Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport

OKAY, HERE’S WHAT IT’S NOT: It’s not Singapore-Changi. It’s not Seoul-Incheon. It’s not sparkly or fancy or architecturally exciting. It’s got bottlenecked corridors, low ceilings, and seemingly endless walks between concourses. And recent construction projects have made the passageways even more congested.

It is, however, clean, efficient and amazingly flyer-friendly.

Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport is the place I’m talking about.

Schiphol has always been one of the top-scoring airports in passenger surveys, something that never made sense to me until recently, when I had a couple of long layovers that gave me time to really explore the place. AMS is the world’s 15th busiest airport overall, and one of the top five for international transfers. Keeping long-haul passengers happy is all about time-killing, and to this end Schiphol’s range of amenities is amazing:

My favorite are the “quiet areas” — relaxation zones decked out with sofas and easy chairs. Some are decorated with faux fireplaces. Others have artistically-inspired chairs with built-in iPads. Every airport should have some version of this. Noise and crowds are among the biggest stressors that travelers face, and nothing is more welcome than some peaceful corner to relax in. There’s also an in-terminal hotel that rents day rooms.

Schiphol’s relaxation zones have a certain motel lobby ambiance, but still.

Amsterdam’s famous Rijksmuseum has a branch at Schiphol, right there in the terminal, with no admission charge. Directly next door is a sit-down library.

For children, the “Kids’ Forest” play area is bigger, brighter, and I have to say, just more fun-looking than most municipal playgrounds. Or maybe your tyke would rather play pilot in the awesome (if vaguely psychedelic) airplane replica, complete with puffy clouds, pictured at the top of this post.

The retail options are pretty much endless, and there’s also a full-service grocery store. If your layover is long enough, there’s a tour desk that sells half-day guided excursions into Amsterdam, with a pick-up and drop-off point just outside the terminal. For those staying in-country, the railway link into Amsterdam — and to points beyond — couldn’t be simpler. Tickets are purchased from kiosks inside the terminal, and the platform is only a short walk away via tunnel and escalator.

Amsterdam’s hometown carrier, KLM, is the world’s oldest airline, and on the second level, near the meditation room, is a hallway of historical KLM travel posters showcasing the carrier’s destinations and aircraft over the decades. There’s also that rarest of rarities at airports nowadays, an open-air observation deck, called the Panoramaterras. An outdoor deck is maybe not ideal considering the Dutch weather, but it allowed them to install that old KLM Fokker 100 as part of the scenery. You don’t need to be an airplane geek to appreciate the view and a chance for some fresh air.

Down in the central lobby, meanwhile, is one of the coolest airport retails shops around — at least in the eyes of some of us. The Planes Plaza sells plastic and die-cast models, toy airports, airline pins, books, and so on. In the hallway out front there’s an entire forward section of a former KLM DC-9 (open to passers-by, of course), as well as a main landing gear section and engine cowling from a McDonnell Douglas MD-11.

And when the weather is good (an iffy proposition most months of the year), the fun continues outside. This being the Netherlands, the airport’s perimeter is ringed by bicycle paths, one of which leads to Schiphol’s spotterplaats, designated zones adjacent to the runways where airliner enthusiasts gather with their binoculars and cameras — an activity that is all but banned in the U.S. (Airplane spotting is so popular in Holland that Schiphol’s website includes a spotters’ subsection.)

Schiphol is pronounced “Shkip-hole,” by the way. The second syllable is short and flattened; it’s “Shkipple.” It’s not “Shipple,” and it’s definitely not “Shy-pole.”

No, there’s not a butterfly garden or koi ponds like the ones in Singapore, or the soaring ceilings and waterfalls you’ll find elsewhere. But what Amsterdam lacks in flair, it makes up for with a workmanlike functionality and plenty of quirky charms. It’s got something even the biggest and flashiest airports often lack: character.

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Lounge 2 - Schiphol Airport Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

After fifteen years of intense use, Lounge 2 at Schiphol Airport Amsterdam required a complete refurbishment. The brief asked for an international distinctive lounge to provide travellers with space to relax, meet each other and above all it should make people smile. Kossmann.dejong has designed the new interior of Lounge 2, in which hours of waiting will become enjoyable.

The design challenge was to create seven experiential ‘worlds’ that offer something for everyone, from a luxury goods section to a children’s playground paradise. At the same time one coherent whole should come into existence. Through intense collaboration with Benthem Crouwel NACO (responsible for the architectural design) interior and architecture of Lounge 2 are fully interwoven with each other, resulting in a diverse but integrated entity.

Since the reopening of Lounge 2 in July 2016, visitors enter the lounge via the new entrance on the second floor and immediately have a phenomenal view out to the runway. This also enables an easy orientation onto the 16,000 m² space. Characteristic materials, tailored furniture and bespoke details provide each of the seven worlds with its own distinct atmosphere and identity to automatically attract travellers and help them to intuitively find their way without specific signage. The floor of large concrete tiles and the black-slatted ceiling combined with sustainable LED strips form the ‘glue’ that visually holds all different elements together. This LED lighting developed by Philips is a 'light as service' circular concept that reduces electricity consumption by 50%. Schiphol pays for the performance of the lighting while Philips remains the owner of the lighting fixtures and is responsible for the system's performance and life cycle.

The other key design challenge was to turn Lounge 2 into a ‘social lounge’. Through emphasising the notion of storytelling, Kossmann.dejong has taken the interior design of Lounge 2 to the next level. A large amount of exciting objects – such as the monumental video clock by Dutch designer Maarten Baas, hordes of ceramic cows, real trees, a window onto the luggage conveyor belt and a spectacular playground in the shape of a large aeroplane– offer surprising experiences, food for discussion and possibilities for chance encounters.

As if in a city, it is encouraged to wander around in Lounge 2 and to explore the surprising features in the different areas, which have come together to make Lounge 2 an integral part of the travel adventure.

Tuesday 30 May 2017