Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

AMS originates in an area or Haarlemmermeer that was originally a large lake with some shallow areas. In the mid-1800s, the lake was dredged, with a fortification called Fort Schiphol built in the area. In 1916 Schiphol opened as a military airbase, complete with a few barracks and a field serving as a platform and runways. Civilian use began on December 17th, 1920, and the culmination of WWI brought about an end to military use of the airbase. In 1940, Schiphol was captured by the German military and renamed Fliegerhorst Schiphol. At the time, there were four asphalt-paved runways, all 3,350 feet or less. The Germans installed anti-aircraft defenses while building decoy airfields nearby to confuse Allied bombers. Nonetheless, the airfield was bombed extensively, so much so that an attack on December 13th, 1943, rendered the airfield useless. It was thereafter used only for emergency landings until the Germans themselves destroyed its remains during the early stages of Allied Operation Market Garden. Following the culmination of WWII, the airfield was rebuilt, with the first aircraft (a Douglas DC-3) landing on July 8th, 1945. In 1949, a new terminal building was completed. At that point, it was determined that Schiphol would be the primary airport of the Netherlands. This brought about the need for expansion, and the small town of Rijk had to be demolished to make space.
Further expansion came about in 1967, as a new terminal area was completed (replacing the older facilities on the eastern side of the airport), most of which is still in use today as departure Halls 1 and 2. In 1970 Pier A (now C) was modified to allow for Boeing 747 aircraft, and in 1977 Pier D (now F) was created to handle wide-body aircraft. The following year, the first railway station opened at AMS. In 1991 a new 331-foot air traffic control tower (the tallest in the world at the time) was completed, and in 1993 Departure Hall 3 was added to the terminal along with Pier G. That same year, new wayfinding signage was unveiled. A sixth runway, nicknamed the Polderbaan, was completed in 2003. The runway is located west of the rest of the airport, and the connecting bridge for this runway crosses the A5 motorway (taxi times to this runway can take 10 to 20 minutes, and an additional air traffic control tower was built on its behalf as it is too far away from the primary tower). In 2005 a fire broke out at the airport’s detention facility, killing 11 people and injuring 15. An investigation showed that fire precautions were not in force, and a national outrage led to the resignation of Dutch Prime Minister Piet Hein Donner, Mayor Hartog of Haarlemmermeer, and Spatial Planning Minister Sybilla Dekker (as she bore responsibility for the safety failings). COVID-19 took a severe toll on AMS in the summer of 2022, as long delays and many flight cancellations brought about a recession in air traffic. Queues for security checks lasted for up to 5 hours, and many passengers missed flights. This brought about the forced resignation of Dick Benschop, the CEO of Schiphol Group.

The airport is located 5.6 miles southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province of North Holland. 

• According to the airport's media department, the name Schiphol originated in the Gothic language (never spoken in the Netherlands), indicating a low-lying wetland where wood could be extracted. Other possible explanations for the name include the translation to ship hole, as it was said that ships would sink in the shallow parts of the lake (although when the lake was dredged, no ships were found). Another explanation is the Dutch word "scheepschaal," which is a ditch or small canal from which ships were towed from one lake to another. 
• A 65,000-square-foot general aviation terminal opened in 2011, operating as KLM Jet Center. 
• There is an annex to the Rijksmuseum at AMS, with a small overview of both classical and contemporary art. The Schiphol Airport Library opened next to the museum in 2010, offering 1,200 books by Dutch authors on subjects relating to the country's culture and history. 
• A state-of-the-art cube-shaped Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol connects to the terminal via a covered walkway. It has 433 rooms and an atrium with a 135-foot-high ceiling made of glass at the heart of the building. 
• There are plans to construct a new Pier A (as part of Departure Hall 1), with five narrow-body gates and three wide-body gates. Furthermore, a fourth part of the terminal (which would have direct access to Schiphol Plaza, the main terminal) is being built, allowing AMS to service up to 70 million passengers annually.