Amsterdam has acquired over the decades a status as one of the main aviation hubs in the European continent. The city's mega-hub of Amsterdam Schiphol is home to one of the largest airlines in Europe and is among the busiest in the continent. So let's find out all there is to know about Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport.
How Many Runways Does Amsterdam Schiphol Airport Have?
Due to the constantly changing weather conditions in the Netherlands, Schiphol airport features a quite complex system of runways. Currently the airport features 6 distinct runways of different lengths and orientations. This allows the airport to reduce to a minimum the amount the disruption intense winds might cause to incoming flights. Here's a full recap of which are Amsterdam International Airport's runways:
| Runway Name | Orientation | Length (m) | Length (ft) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polderbaan | 18R/36L | 3,800 | 12,467 |
| Kaagbaan | 06/24 | 3,500 | 11,483 |
| Buitenveldertbaan | 09/27 | 3,453 | 11,329 |
| Aalsmeerbaan | 18L/36R | 3,400 | 11,155 |
| Zwanenburgbaan | 18C/36C | 3,300 | 10,827 |
| Oostbaan | 04/22 | 2,014 | 6,608 |
What is peculiar about Amsterdam International Airport is that each runway has a specific name that identifies it, not only the number.
Which Airline Uses Amsterdam International Airport as a Hub?
Schiphol is home to KLM, Royal Dutch Airlines, the flag carrier of the Netherlands. The airline has all of its operations based in what is the only large-scale airport of the country. The airport used to also be home to MartinAir that however has been absorbed into the KLM group. KLM is part of the Air France-KLM group of which you can read more here.
Staying on the Air France-KLM Group topic, Amsterdam is also hub and key airport to Transavia. That might not be a particularly well-known airline, but it is in fact the Air France-KLM owned budget airline.
How Many Passengers Travel Via Amsterdam Schiphol Airport?
In 2024 over 66.8 million passengers have transited through the Dutch capital's airport. In the table below you'll find the monthly recap of passenger numbers and cargo that transited via Amsterdam Schiphol.
| Year | Month | Number of Passengers | Number of PAX Flights | Cargo Tonnes | Europe PAX | North America | South America | Africa | Middle East | Far East |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | January | 4,804,060 | 35,050 | 104,355 | 3,240,908 | 486,134 | 299,169 | 249,479 | 196,598 | 331,718 |
| 2025 | February | 4,693,266 | 34,339 | 108,879 | 3,288,773 | 413,496 | 270,784 | 232,715 | 188,667 | 298,831 |
| 2025 | March | 5,324,550 | 38,870 | 131,645 | 3,772,351 | 538,828 | 293,076 | 221,553 | 179,196 | 319,546 |
| 2025 | April | 5,825,953 | 40,363 | 116,695 | 4,175,041 | 654,908 | 277,509 | 210,537 | 191,031 | 316,927 |
| 2025 | May | 6,089,843 | 42,674 | 122,708 | 4,438,586 | 684,339 | 271,084 | 200,038 | 182,188 | 313,582 |
| 2025 | June | 6,032,888 | 40,737 | 104,195 | 4,381,736 | 714,259 | 261,674 | 203,768 | 154,973 | 316,118 |
| 2025 | July | 6,552,451 | 43,320 | 114,325 | 4,729,405 | 737,505 | 291,963 | 238,306 | 213,599 | 341,578 |
| 2025 | August | 6,621,920 | 43,616 | 118,341 | 4,742,803 | 749,186 | 293,190 | 251,286 | 226,323 | 359,132 |
| 2025 | September | 6,094,409 | 41,374 | 118,685 | 4,417,434 | 657,001 | 270,660 | 217,228 | 191,530 | 340,556 |
| 2025 | October | 6,230,115 | 42,007 | 131,543 | 4,457,240 | 656,267 | 295,934 | 249,913 | 219,875 | 350,886 |
| 2025 | November | 5,215,344 | 36,590 | 129,287 | 3,624,822 | 498,345 | 308,844 | 243,665 | 210,364 | 329,304 |
| 2025 | December | |||||||||
| Total | 63,484,799 | 438,940 | 1,300,658 | 45,269,099 | 6,790,268 | 3,133,887 | 2,518,488 | 2,154,344 | 3,618,178 |
| Year | Month | Number of Passengers | Number of PAX Flights | Cargo Tons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | January | 4,543,879 | 35,050 | 118,253 |
| 2024 | February | 4,626,939 | 35,103 | 121,853 |
| 2024 | March | 5,226,129 | 38,223 | 136,492 |
| 2024 | April | 5,470,432 | 39,141 | 117,657 |
| 2024 | May | 5,975,694 | 42,043 | 122,510 |
| 2024 | June | 5,958,314 | 40,857 | 121,648 |
| 2024 | July | 6,301,058 | 42,452 | 128,192 |
| 2024 | August | 6,417,539 | 43,118 | 126,833 |
| 2024 | September | 6,031,435 | 41,778 | 129,351 |
| 2024 | October | 6,039,663 | 42,005 | 130,295 |
| 2024 | November | 5,071,186 | 36,588 | 120,293 |
| 2024 | December | 5,164,857 | 35,698 | 120,017 |
| Total | 66,827,125 | 472,056 | 1,493,394 |
The Airport's Main Issue – And the Dutch Government's Stance
One of the most loved features for travellers is the proximity of Schiphol airport to downtown Amsterdam. However, this characteristic in recent years has become the airport's main issue. The ever growing demand for air transport and in turn the increasing number of flights has created frictions between the needs of the airport and the demands of nearby residents.
Therefore in 2022 the Dutch government unveiled a plan to gradually reduce the number of flights allowed to operate from Schiphol Airport. This immediately triggered a response by the airport authority and the many airlines operating from AMS lead by KLM.
In spring 2023 the first ruling came out in favor of the airlines and the airport suspending the government's decision. However following an appeal it was ruled that the Dutch government's plan is legitimate and that the airport will have to reduce the its flights from 500,000 to 460,000 in 2024. That is quite a significant reduction for Amsterdam Schiphol which risks to loose competitiveness against other major European airports if a solution isn't found.
Which Are The Busiest Routes From Amsterdam Schiphol Airport?
As mentioned before Amsterdam Schiphol airport is among the 5 busiest airports in Europe at the moment. Therefore, a huge amount of traffic moves from and to the airport daily. In 2022 AMS traffic split saw:
- 71% of passengers volumes from and to European destinations
- 29% of passengers from and to non-European destinations
The busiest European destinations in 2024 were:
| Airport | Code | Passenger Volume |
|---|---|---|
| Barcelona | BCN | 1,559,616 |
| London Heathrow | LHR | 1,460,366 |
| Dublin | DUB | 1,297,434 |
| Madrid | MAD | 1,228,527 |
| Copenhagen | CPH | 1,159,300 |
| Paris Charles de Gaulle | CDG | 1,125,311 |
| Manchester | MAN | 1,083,040 |
| Lisbon | LIS | 1,044,889 |
| Malaga | AGP | 912,724 |
| Stockholm | ARN | 893,987 |
| Istanbul | IST | 866,371 |
| Berlin | BER | 827,957 |
| Zurich | ZRH | 816,734 |
| Munich | MUC | 827,957 |
| Vienna | VIE | 779,610 |
| Rome Fiumicino | FCO | 759,526 |
| Oslo | OSL | 742,457 |
| London Gatwick | LGW | 729,604 |
| Edinburgh | EDI | 685,566 |
| Frankfurt | FRA | 658,604 |
While the busiest non-European routes were:
| Airport | Code | Passenger Volume |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai | DXB | 991,087 |
| New York JFK | JFK | 905,043 |
| Atlanta | ATL | 777,968 |
| Curacao | CUR | 720,629 |
| Toronto | YYZ | 548,808 |
| Minneapolis | MSP | 546,677 |
| Detroit | DTW | 537,242 |
| Boston | BOS | 420,380 |
| Doha | DOH | 384,105 |
| Shanghai | PVG | 368,871 |
| Nairobi | NBO | 358,604 |
| New Delhi | DEL | 354,848 |
| Mexico City | MEX | 352,043 |
| Bangkok | BKK | 331,437 |
| Los Angeles | LAX | 325,110 |
| Hong Kong | HKG | 312,449 |
| Chicago O'Hare | ORD | 299,349 |
| Houston | IAH | 299,213 |
| Seoul Incheon | ICN | 299,068 |
| Paramaribo | PMB | 294,380 |
Unsurprisingly Dubai is the first airport by passenger volumes which travellers fly to from Amsterdam. Emirates is the 800-pound gorilla on the route with a staggering 19 weekly flights to Amsterdam Schiphol international airport. Also unsurprising to see destinations such as JFK or Atlanta in the top positions as those are other key SkyTeam hubs.
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