Watching Amsterdam Schiphol live
Six runways four metres below sea level, and a fifteen-minute taxi to the Polderbaan.
The layout
Schiphol has six runways, pointing in several directions so the airport can always land and take off into the wind while sending noise over the least populated areas. Three run north–south: the Polderbaan (18R/36L) far out to the west, the Zwanenburgbaan (18C/36C) and the Aalsmeerbaan (18L/36R). The Kaagbaan (06/24) runs diagonally, the Buitenveldertbaan (09/27) east–west, and the little Oostbaan (04/22) serves light aircraft. The single terminal, with its piers and Schiphol Plaza with the railway station beneath, sits in the middle of them all.
The whole airport lies in a reclaimed lake, roughly four metres below sea level; the name means 'ship's hole'.
How the flow works
Runway choice at Schiphol follows a preference list rather than simple wind: the combinations that put arrivals and departures over farmland come first. In a common south-westerly, aircraft land on the Polderbaan and the Zwanenburgbaan and depart from the Kaagbaan. The Polderbaan is so far from the terminal that an aircraft landing there taxis for a quarter of an hour, crossing under a public road, to reach its gate; watch for the long, steady crawl across the map.
In the peaks the airport runs two runways for landing and one for departure, or two and two, and switches combinations several times a day.
What to watch for
KLM's blue is everywhere: 737s, Embraers from KLM Cityhopper, and 777s, 787s and A330s on the long-haul flights, with Transavia and easyJet filling the low-cost gates. The morning arrival wave from Asia and the Americas and the early-evening departure bank are the busiest hours. The North Sea weather brings low cloud and rain more often than not, so the weather icon is a good barometer of how smoothly the day is running.
The Polderbaan has its own spotting spot at the far end, one of the best in Europe; on the map, it is the runway on the left edge, well away from everything else.
More airports
- LAXLos Angeles International AirportFour parallel runways beside the Pacific, and the busiest airport on the US west coast.
- ORDChicago O'Hare International AirportEight runways, two giant hubs, and weather that keeps everyone on their toes.
- ATLHartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International AirportThe busiest airport on Earth: five parallel runways and an arrival every minute.
- DXBDubai International AirportA380s all day at the busiest international hub in the world.
- LHRLondon Heathrow AirportTwo runways running flat out, Terminal 5 at the west end.
- JFKJohn F. Kennedy International AirportCrossing runway pairs on Jamaica Bay, the AirTrain circling the terminals.
- SANSan Diego International AirportOne runway between the bay and downtown, and the steepest approach in the country.
- AMSAmsterdam Airport SchipholSix runways four metres below sea level, and a fifteen-minute taxi to the Polderbaan.
- DFWDallas/Fort Worth International AirportSeven runways on a site the size of Manhattan, Skylink threading the half-moon terminals.
- HNDTokyo Haneda AirportAsia's busiest airport: four runways on reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay, one standing on piers.
- BKKSuvarnabhumi AirportThree parallel runways around one vast terminal on the marsh east of the city.
- GRUSão Paulo/Guarulhos International AirportSouth America's busiest airport: two parallel runways on the plateau north-east of the biggest city in the hemisphere.
- SYDSydney Kingsford Smith AirportAustralia's busiest airport: two parallel runways reaching out into Botany Bay, and a third across them.
- SINSingapore Changi AirportThree parallel runways on reclaimed land at the eastern tip of the island, and the best-run hub in the world.
- HKGHong Kong International AirportThree parallel runways on an island built for the purpose, between the sea and the mountains of Lantau.