Amsterdam International Airport, whichcalled "Skiphol", is one of the five largest and most loaded air harbors in Europe. The annual number of passengers that they miss is about fifty million people. At the same time about one third of them follow international directions. As of today, its route network has 313 direct messages. The main air carrier here is the Dutch company KLM.
Amsterdam Airport, the scheme of which is locatedbelow, was opened in 1916. It is located in the Haarlemmermer municipality, south-west of the Dutch capital, ten kilometers from its center. Currently, "Schiphol" is one huge terminal, consisting of three large halls. The construction of the last of them was completed twenty years ago. The airport is divided into two floors. At the lower level are a large hall, arrival halls, as well as railway ticket offices and access to passenger platforms. On the second floor there are departure halls and check-in counters.
At the airport there are five mainrunways. In addition to them, there is one more, designed for flights of small aircraft. It should be noted that plans for further expansion of the air harbor building and construction of the seventh strip are being actively discussed now. "Skiphol" is located at a height of three meters below sea level. The height of the control tower is 101 meters, which was a record world record as of the time of its construction in 1991.
As already mentioned above, the Skiphol terminalconsists of three rooms. All of them are interconnected by transitions. From each of the halls depart special piers, which are marked with English letters. At the same time, "B" and "C" are intended for servicing flights to the Schengen countries, and "E", "F" and "G" for non-Schengen destinations. The piers "N", "M" and "D" are mixed. In many respects it will help to sort out the necessary direction, even to those passengers who travel for the first time through the Amsterdam airport, the arrival and departure board.
The simplest and at the same time the most expensiveway to get from the airport to the city and back is a taxi. A real innovation in this mode of transport is the use of electric vehicles. The best option is to book a car on the official website of "Skiphol". In this case, the car will be served at the specified time directly to the airport in Amsterdam. How to get to the desired destination, the passenger after that, you do not need to think. A similar situation with the transfer order. It is more advantageous if traveling by a large family or company. The main thing about which it is necessary to remember is that its booking should be carried out at least four hours in advance.
Traveling in the Netherlands capitalpublic transport is a bit more complicated, but much cheaper. The railway station is located directly on the territory of Skiphol. Trains that follow the city center are sent from the first and second platforms. The interval of their departure, as well as the travel time, is twenty minutes (at night they go through the hour). Tickets can be purchased at the box office or in special vending machines. In the second case, their cost will be slightly less. Trains in the direction of two other major cities of the country - Rotterdam and Breda - depart every half hour. With the passage here should not be a problem even for those people who first came to the airport in Amsterdam. The scoreboard located at the station, as well as the official website of the Dutch railways, will tell you which train to take.
The platform from which buses todirection to the center of the city, is located directly opposite the "Skihol" and is called "A7". The ride to the central part of the city is about thirty minutes. At the same time when buying a ticket directly from the driver will have to pay 4 euros, while if there is a chip card the fare will be 2.35 euros. It is best to use this mode of transport when traveling to the southern part of Amsterdam.
Amsterdam Airport is simply riddled with the metropolitanatmosphere. Representatives of almost all world nations can be found on its territory. This air harbor is constantly being improved. Currently, among the services provided to clients, there is a children's room, many restaurants, cafes and six hotels with different levels of comfort (from economy class to five stars). In addition, there are even such unusual for the airport facilities, like the marriage registration department and the prayer hall. Recreation areas are quite comfortable and equipped with TVs.
Every passenger who gets to the airportAmsterdam, with a ticket has the opportunity to make purchases in the world-famous chain of stores, called "See Buy Fly". Here you can find various goods and souvenirs, the number of titles which exceeds the mark of 140 thousand.
According to the rules that apply in"Skiphol", when traveling within Europe for the procedure of registration by passengers, it is necessary to arrive at the airport at least two hours before departure. As for international flights outside Europe, in this case you need to arrive three hours before the time indicated in the ticket.
Arriving at Amsterdam airport people have the rightfree use of trolleys on wheels that are designed to carry baggage. By weight, it is limited in three categories. In particular, passengers with economy class tickets can take things with a total weight of no more than twenty kilograms. For customers traveling in the business class, this value is thirty kilograms, and for those who have first class tickets - forty kilograms. It should be noted that the rules of transportation do not specify the permissible dimensions of baggage, and the restrictions relate solely to its weight.
In order for passengers to somehow pass awaywhile waiting for departure, there is a whole range of entertainment in the Amsterdam airport under one roof, they are quite easy to find. The main and most interesting among them is the separation of the state museum located directly on the airport territory. It presents the original versions of some works performed by Vermeer, Rembrandt and other Dutch masters. In addition to it, slot machines and casinos are very popular.
As already noted above, in "Skiphol" and a number ofseveral hotels function with it, which can be used if, for some reason, the flight is delayed, or it is necessary to wait a while before the transplant. The most famous hotel in the Amsterdam airport is the Hilton. In addition to it, there are five other hotels in the territory of the air harbor.
For the history of its existence, "Schiphol" wonmore than a hundred different prizes and awards. The most significant of them was the title of the best air harbor in the world, which he was awarded seven times. In addition, during the period from 1988 to 2003, for fifteen consecutive years it was named the best European airport. As of today, the Skytrax rating for it is four stars. In addition to this rating, only five air harbors on the planet can boast of this rating.
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