A whistle-stop tour through the rich history of the Netherlands’ national airport: From muddy puddle to global hub

1916

In January 1916, a farmer named Knibbe from Haarlemmermeer sees a military man appear on his land. Colonel Walaardt Sacré is looking for a suitable location for an airfield. 55,290 guilders (about €450,509 in today’s money) is enough to convince Knibbe to sell his roughly 12 hectares of land (the size of about 18 football pitches). The first military aircraft land here on 19 September 1916, marking the start of Schiphol’s service as a military airfield. The airport expands quickly, and by 1917 Schiphol is already one of the largest airports in Europe.

© Photo: Amsterdam City Archives

1916

The first complaints from local residents are soon heard – not about the noise, but about the armed forces personnel. The strict Protestant community around the airfield is not happy about the arrival of these outsiders, not least because the young men have an eye for the local girls.

© Photo: Schiphol

1919

After the First World War, Schiphol initially remains a military base, but because the war is over the fighter planes are now used to transport cargo, post and passengers. Schiphol takes on more and more features of a civilian airport, and the Dutch Air Force officially depart in 1923.

© Photo: Schiphol

1923

At the end of its first few years, Schiphol still has no paved runways. That is a problem, because the groundwater level is high, and aircraft are becoming increasingly heavier. The soggy airfield attracts all kinds of nicknames: ‘Schiphol Swamp’ and ‘Schiphol Mudport’. The French even refer to it as ‘Schiphol-les-Bains’: the Schiphol bathing resort.

© Photo: Amsterdam City Archives

1926

The documents are signed on 1 April 1926: Schiphol now belongs to Amsterdam. Until this moment, the airport was still the property of the Ministry of War. The municipality gets to work straight away, because the Olympic Games are set to be held in Amsterdam in 1928. The field and the access roads are improved, a new concrete platform is poured and the first terminal is built, together with an air traffic control tower. A replica of this terminal building will be built by Aviodrome in 2007.

© Photo: Amsterdam City Archives

1928

This is the year when the Olympic Games come to Amsterdam. The expansions have to be completed rapidly, but in the end everything is ready just in time for the Games to begin. Passenger transportation increases by more than a quarter over 1927, while cargo transport goes up by 60%, to 798 tons.

© Photo: Schiphol

1937

The Aviation Disasters Act (Luchtvaartrampenwet) comes into force in 1937. This law was created in the wake of several serious air traffic accidents. In recognition of the need for accidents to be investigated more professionally, the Council for Aviation is inaugurated to investigate the causes of accidents and suggest ways to prevent such incidents wherever possible.

© Photo: Amsterdam City Archives

1939

In 1939, the Netherlands mobilises for impending war. The Aviation Department of the Royal Netherlands Army has a few aircraft stationed at Schiphol. Although the airport remains in operation as a civilian facility until almost the very last moment, aircraft are required to display their national identification. The Berlin-Amsterdam service was put on hold due to the war situation, but restarts as soon as 15 March 1940. Reinforcement efforts at Schiphol do not begin until 6 May.

© Photo: Amsterdam City Archives

1940

On 10 May 1940, Germany invades the Netherlands. The German air force bombs certain strategic targets, including the airport at Schiphol. The Germans quickly repair the damage following the Dutch capitulation on 15 May 1940, and the Luftwaffe take control of Schiphol as an air force base under a new name: Fliegerhorst 561. During the war, the Fliegerhorst is the most heavily defended German airfield in Europe. At the peak of air warfare, in 1943, 70 German military aircraft are stationed here.

© Photo: Schiphol

1943

Because Schiphol is a key airport for the Germans, 200 American bombers target the airport on 13 December 1943, dropping almost 1,600 bombs. The airport suffers heavy damage and loses its strategic value.

© Photo: Amsterdam City Archives

1944

By 1944 a German defeat seems inevitable. The occupying forces fear that Schiphol will become an attack base for the Allies. To prevent this, the German ‘Sprengkommando’ demolition squads destroy the remaining runways. Schiphol had already seen significant damage; now it has been rendered totally unusable.

© Photo: Amsterdam City Archives

1945

By the end of the Second World War, Schiphol lies in ruins. After the airport was repeatedly bombed during the war, as a final blow the Germans make it unusable when they are forced to flee the approaching British and American forces. But the Netherlands is quick to rebuild the airport, and on 8 July 1945 the first plane lands at a resurrected Schiphol.

© Photo: Openbeelden.nl

1945

In the first months of peace, Schiphol works hard to reconstruct the airport. First the runways are restored, then barracks are constructed to provide temporary shelter to passengers and cargo. This row of barracks forms a new street, aptly named ‘Vrijheidsstraat’: Freedom Street.

© Photo: Schiphol

1945

In the wake of World War II, the government is keen to provide clarity about the future of air traffic. They need to designate a central airport. The airfield at Soesterberg has limited potential for expansion, and other sites at Deelen, Eindhoven, Gilze-Rijen and Twente also fail to meet the requirements. On 8 November 1945, the government announces that Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is now ‘the world airport of the Netherlands’.

© Photo: Schiphol

1949

In 1949, airport manager Jan Dellaert presents his first plans for the airport’s expansion. In addition to a modern air traffic control tower, the airport is to add between six and ten take-off and landing runways surrounding a new terminal. Dellaert’s wish list also includes a new motorway and a rail line between Amsterdam and The Hague. The cost of the ambitious plans comes to 95 million guilders – a bit too much of a stretch for the budget. Schiphol initially gets four runways, to cover all four wind directions. This makes it easier for aircraft to land in various wind conditions. The central terminal building is located in the middle of the site. Dellaert’s designs form the basis for Schiphol airport as it is today.

© Photo: Schiphol

1950

1950 sees the opening of the air traffic control tower at Schiphol. This tower will remain in use until the new airport opens in 1967. Today, this building houses a restaurant, and since 2013 the Flight Simulator Training programme (FST) can also be found here.

© Photo: Schiphol

1955

As you can see from the photograph, in the 1920s Schiphol flourished as a tourist attraction. In 1955 Schiphol attracts more than a million paying day guests – more than the Rijksmuseum. Although air travel is out of reach for many, a visit to Schiphol is still regarded as a very special day out. In fact, day-trip tourism was one of the airport’s main revenue sources during this period.

© Photo: Amsterdam City Archives

1957

In 1957, the first tax-free shops open at Schiphol. A bottle of Dutch jenever costs four guilders; a bottle of whiskey will set you back eight guilders. The total turnover of the tax-free shops in their first year comes to around €3 million in today’s money. 50 years later, that figure is €400 million.

© Photo: Schiphol

1958

The arrival of the jet engine marks the start of a new era. Jet aircraft can fly higher and faster than propeller planes, and they are also much heavier. That means Schiphol’s runways need a makeover, and a new concrete runway measuring 3,300 metres is added. Now even Aeroflot’s Russian jet aeroplane ‘Tupolev’ can land at Schiphol.

© Photo: Schiphol

1966

Jan Dellaert’s 1940s plans place the new terminal building at the heart of the airport. Aircraft can approach the piers from the surrounding runways. Construction begins in 1963 under architect Marius Duintjer, while Kho Liang Ie creates the modern design. Queen Juliana presides at the terminal’s grand opening in 1967.

© Photo: Schiphol

1967

After the war everyone at Schiphol does their bit to expand and modernise the airport, and April 1967 sees the moment of truth: the new Schiphol is finished! That is, at least for now: Schiphol will never really be finished. Queen Juliana attends the official opening. The old Schiphol-East site is still in use, housing hangars for aircraft repairs and commercial offices.

© Photo: Schiphol

1973

Arab countries impose an oil embargo because the Netherlands supported Israel during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Rising fuel prices and falling passenger numbers put an end to several expansion projects at Schiphol. The implementation of other plans continued, demanding significant income levels. Despite big hikes in airport charges, Schiphol is making a loss.

© Photo: Schiphol

1975

The volume of air traffic increases dramatically in the period after the war. 1975 sees the opening of the new terminal building, twice the size of the one it’s replacing. A new pier is now also in use. Propeller planes have made way for jet engines, and the new Pier D is up to the job of serving these jumbo jets.

© Photo: Schiphol

1980

Competition is stiff in the 1980s. European airlines design their lines according to the hub-and-spoke concept: passengers flying from different airports to the same destination first travel to a ‘hub’, where they converge and all go on to take the same plane to their ultimate destination. Schiphol becomes one of the big European hubs, and in 1988 the central government designates Schiphol as a ‘Mainport’: an international air, road and rail hub and a major driver of the Dutch economy.

© Photo: Schiphol

1989

In 1989, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol presents the Schiphol Master Plan 2003. Over the next 15 years, the airport will benefit from large-scale expansion. Schiphol emphasises the economic importance of the airport to the Netherlands, while also taking measures to protect the environment. However, there are still big protests. The photograph shows the construction of a new pier.

© Photo: Schiphol

1991

In 1991 the new air traffic control tower is brought into use, with Queen Beatrix presiding at the official opening ceremony. At 101.7 metres, the Schiphol Tower is the tallest air traffic control tower in the world. It will later be superseded by the towers at airports in Vienna (109 metres), Bangkok (132 metres) and Vancouver (142 metres).

The construction of the new air traffic control tower forms part of the Master Plan devised in 1988. The expansion set out in the Master Plan included the need to build a new tower, to make sure that air traffic control (LVNL) personnel always have an uninterrupted line of sight to the platforms and the runways.

© Photo: Schiphol

1997

With the AirportCity concept, Schiphol is aiming to become more than just a place where passengers arrive, depart or change planes. The goal is for the airport to become a kind of city that never sleeps. It has to have facilities for everyone: shops, restaurants and hotels, but also banks, a library, a museum and even a casino.

© Photo: Schiphol

2002

In 2002 the Rijksmuseum opens its daughter museum at Schiphol, making Schiphol the first airport in the world to house an art gallery. Airline passengers travelling through Amsterdam can visit airside exhibitions about the Dutch masters; the exhibitions are updated regularly.

© Photo: Schiphol

2003

Schiphol’s fifth main runway opens in 2003. Local residents are given the opportunity to name it, with the winning entry ultimately being ‘Polderbaan’, known more scientifically as ‘Runway 18R-36L’. The Polderbaan’s location aims to ensure that as much air traffic as possible flies over sparsely populated areas. However, local residents and environmental activists still protest. At 3,800 metres, the new runway is the longest runway at Schiphol. The Polderbaan is also the furthest runway from the airport buildings, which means that it takes longer to taxi to the piers.

© Photo: Schiphol

2010

Schiphol is the first airport in the world to have its own library. The Airport Library makes it possible for passengers travelling with intercontinental flight services to discover Dutch culture while they wait for their connecting flight. The library offers a broad range of Dutch books in translation, photo albums, videos, mini exhibitions and music by Dutch artists.

© Photo: Schiphol

2014

On 17 July 2014, a Boeing 777 run by Malaysia Airlines crashes in Ukraine. The aircraft, registered with the number MH17, is shot down by an anti-aircraft missile at an altitude of 10 kilometres. Armed conflict has been raging in Ukraine for several months by the time the aircraft takes off from Schiphol, heading to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 people on board, including 193 Dutch nationals, are killed. There is still great uncertainty about the circumstances surrounding the disaster.

© Photo: Schiphol

2015

Schiphol still has two permanent residents: Jo (84) and Wout de Rooij (88) live on Schipholweg. They moved there in 1955 when they got married, and their three children (pictured) were all born and raised in this house. Although everything around them has changed beyond recognition, they still love living here.

© Photo: Schiphol

2015

In the past, all of Schiphol’s 71 gates outside the Schengen Area had individual security checks. Now, the construction of central security filters makes it possible for these checks to be carried out much more efficiently. The filters were already active within the Schengen Area: once passengers have checked in, they go through an automatic security procedure and eventually reach Passport Control. There is no longer a further check at the gate.

© Photo: Schiphol