The airport consists of one huge building divided into concourses 1, 2 and 3.

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Check the departure boards right at the entrance to the building for your concourse number, then go up to the first floor where there are check-in desks and also security.

The individual check-in halls are divided by airline.

• Concourse 1 - Air France, Austrian Airlines, KLM (European flights), LOT, Lufthansa, SAS, Swiss, TAP Portugal, Transavia, Vueling
• Concourse 2 - China Southern, Delta, KLM (non-European flights + UK)
• Concourse 3 - Aer Lingus, AeroMexico, Air Baltic, Air Canada, American Airlines, British Airways, China Airlines, Corendon, easyJet, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Eurowings, Qatar Airways, Ryanair, Singapore Airlines, Surinam Airways, TUI, Turkish Airlines, United

The ground floor is dedicated to arrivals, with the train station underground.

The division between Schengen and non-Schengen flights is made after security checks.

Transfer between flights

Although the airport is large, it has a single large terminal. This makes it relatively easy to navigate and even if you accidentally miss the right direction the first time, you don't have to make complicated transfers to other terminals.

In the transit zone, the sections are divided by the letters A to H/M. Check the departure board to find out which gate your connecting flight is departing from as soon as you get off the plane, and follow the clear signs that tell you how far you are from each section in minutes.

The official airport website provides clear transfer information: www.schiphol.nl/en/transfers

You can transfer within the same ticket for any amount of time the airline will sell you.

For longer connections (5 hours or more), take a detour to the centre of Amsterdam. By train you are here in 15 minutes, see the Transport section.

Below we describe situations where you have a guaranteed connection (all flights purchased as one booking) or if you are travelling without luggage and already have an online boarding pass for a connecting flight.

Schengen <-> Schengen

If you are transferring between two Schengen flights, you will always transfer between departure gates A, B, C or D.

You get off the plane straight into the departure gate area, making the transfer extremely simple and straightforward.

• Average transfer time - 5 to 25 minutes depending on the distance to the departure gate of the connecting flight
• Security check - no
• Immigration check - no

Schengen -> non-Schengen flight

You will disembark the aircraft at the "Schengen" departure gates. The departure board will tell you where your connecting flight is coming from, which will be from gates D, E, F or G. You will enter this part of the airport through passport control.

Queues here are usually 10 minutes maximum and there is a special corridor for passengers with short transfer times.

If your flight is shown on the screen above this corridor, you can use it.

Amsterdam Airport is also one of the clearest and most efficient airports in Europe for this type of transfer.

• Average transfer time - 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the distance from the departure gate of the connecting flight and the queue at passport control
• Security check - no
• Immigration control - yes

Non-Schengen -> Schengen

This type of transfer is also very straightforward and takes place entirely within one terminal.

The departure board will tell you where your connecting flight is coming from, which will be from gates A, B, C or D. You will go through passport control to get to this part of the airport.

Queues here are usually 10 minutes at most and there is a special corridor for passengers with short transfer times.

If your flight is shown on the screen above this corridor, you can use it.

• Average transfer time - 20 to 40 minutes depending on the distance from the departure gate of the connecting flight and the queue at passport control
• Security check
  • No - if arriving from the UK, USA, Canada, Singapore, Serbia (Belgrade only), Ireland, Cyprus or Dutch Overseas Territories
  • Yes - if you are arriving from all other countries
• Immigration control - yes

Non-Schengen <-> Non-Schengen

This type of transfer is also very common in Amsterdam, for example for transfers from/to the UK onwards to Asia or Africa, but there are also very frequent flights between Africa and North America via Amsterdam.

• Average transfer time - 10 to 40 minutes, depending on the distance from the departure gate of the connecting flight and the queue at security
• Security check
  • No- if arriving from the UK, USA, Canada, Singapore, Serbia (Belgrade only), Ireland, Cyprus or Dutch Overseas Territories
  • Yes - if you are arriving from all other countries
• Immigration control - no