Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) is the main international airport of the Netherlands. Located 5.6 southwest of Amsterdam, AMS is the hub of several airlines including Arkefly, Corendon Dutch Airlines, Transavia, and KLM. The airport opened in 1916 as, like many of the larger airports in Europe, a military airbase. Schipol began seeing civilian use after WWI, and over time was no longer used for military purposes – although it was captured by German forces in 1940.
The airport was subsequently destroyed by Allied bombing, but was restored quickly after the end of WWII. It was decided that Schiphol would become the primary airport of the Netherlands in 1949.
Based on passenger traffic, AMS is the fifth-busiest airport in Europe and the 14th busiest airport in the world.
Did You Know? Interesting Facts About Amsterdam Schiphol Airport:
- Due to heavy traffic and high landing fees, many low-cost carriers have moved their flights to smaller airports, such as Eindhoven Airport.
- Schiphol’s name is derived from Fort Schiphol, a former fortification belonging to the Stelling van Amsterdam defence works.
- Before 1852, the area in which AMS now sits was a large lake with some shallow areas. These shallow areas were known to claim many ships, which lends to the original naming of Fort Schiphol; “Schiphol” translates to “Ship Grave” in English.
- Despite German attempts to defend Schiphol after capturing it in 1940, it was bombed extensively until, in 1943, it was no longer usable as an active base. The Germans themselves destroyed what remained of the air base at the beginning of Operation Market Garden.
- The first aircraft to land at Schiphol after the war, and after its restoration, was a Douglas DC-5. It landed on July 8th, 1945.
- One of the largest diamond heists in history occurred at Schiphol Airport in 2005. Robbers used a stolen KLM van to access the tarmac, allowing them to abscond with diamonds worth over 75 million euros.
- Schiphol Airport has approximately 165 boarding gates. It currently uses the same single-terminal layout that has been in use since 1949, although many renovations and changes have been made since.
- Because the last runway to have been constructed at AMS is over four miles from the terminal, it can take up to twenty minutes for a plane to taxi to or from its gate.
Gelderlandplein Amsterdam Webcam
Control a camera located near the new construction at Amsterdam’s Gelderlandplein Shopping Mall. You can view a number of the buildings, watch the new construction in progress, or pan over to watch Schiphol in the distance.
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A4 Amsterdam-Sloten Cam
The Schiphol A4 hotel in amsterdam provides this view of traffic near the airport.
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A4 Corner Junction Cam
This camera shows a view of the junction south of Schiphol from the A4 hotel.
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Sheraton Amsterdam Hotel Cam
This camera offers a view from the Sheraton Amsterdam Hotel and Conference center, situated right in the middle of the airport. You can see the planes arriving and departing clearly from this vantage point.
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Schiphol On-Airport Cam
This camera is located on a building southwest of the airport and views runway 06 arrivals, runway 24 departures, and 36R/18L traffic in the distance. The southern cargo terminal can be seen in the foreground.
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Amsterdam Cam
A view of a beautiful arching bridges in Amsterdam. Some of the bridges open for ship passage. The live, sweeping view also shows some of the city’sfanciful light displays at night.
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Airport Runway Cam Tags:
- webcam schiphol