Once a year, it is deafeningly quiet at Schiphol. No running aircraft engines, no ‘Your attention please, …’ through the loudspeakers, no rattling baggage belts. Absolutely nothing for two minutes. Because at Schiphol, just as in the rest of the Netherlands, we commemorate National Remembrance Day with silence.
Between 19:50 and 20:03, Air Traffic Control the Netherlands does not give permission to start engines (the take-off clearance). Between 20:00 and 20:03, aircraft are also no longer allowed to taxi or land. Aircraft that have not landed by 20:00 will postpone their final approach until after 20:03 and will remain in the airspace at an altitude of more than 2 km or higher.
The many employees on the work floor, both land and airside, also stop their work for two minutes. At 20:00 all apron lights are switched on, as a sign that the two minutes have started, so that everyone on the runways and aprons is silent together. There is also no radio traffic between 20:00 and 20:05, and all baggage comes to standstill. In addition, the flags at Schiphol hang at half-mast.
Normally it’s lively in the terminals. However, at eight o'clock it’s completely silent. At check-in, security and passport control, employees temporarily take a seat next to their workstation. And the radios in shops and catering establishments are switched off. Travellers are informed of the commemoration through several announcements. Then the 'Taptoe' trumpet signal sounds through the loudspeakers at 19:58. Just like in the rest of the country, the National Anthem is played after the two minutes of silence.
There will be no official commemoration service at Schiphol itself. However, where possible, we will broadcast the official Remembrance Day service on TV screens. We will also broadcast this event on the large TV screen located at the bus and taxi square in front of Schiphol Plaza between 19:45 and 20:15. In this way, we make it possible for people to follow the remembrance service at several locations.
At three minutes past eight, the airport will immediately start operating at full speed again. The systems do not get switched off during the two-minute silence and employees remain at their posts, so that everything and everyone is immediately ready to serve our partners and travellers again.