Schiphol Airport Map & Terminal Layout
Schiphol has one single terminal split into departure halls 1, 2 and 3, all linked under one roof above Schiphol Plaza, where the train sits one level down and bus and taxi stands wait outside.
Reading a Schiphol Airport map is simpler than most: Amsterdam’s airport has one single terminal, divided into three departure halls (1, 2 and 3) that all sit under the same roof and connect on foot, so you never need to change buildings or take a shuttle between them. The halls feed lettered piers — B through H plus the M-gates — and almost all of them link up airside once you are through security.
Below the halls is Schiphol Plaza, the shared shopping, food and transport hub that every passenger passes through. The train station is one level further down, directly under Plaza, with bus and taxi stands at street level just outside. If you can find Schiphol Plaza, you can find everything else — including the 17-minute train to Amsterdam Centraal.
One terminal, three departure halls
Schiphol is a single-terminal airport, so the three “departure halls” are really three sections of the same building, numbered 1, 2 and 3 from left to right as you face check-in. Your boarding pass or check-in email tells you which hall to head for, and once you are airside you can walk between most piers without leaving the secure zone. The one exception is piers H and M, which are sealed off airside — reach them before security, because you cannot cross back to the rest of the airport once you are through.
After security, follow the gate letter and number on the overhead signs. Each hall maps to specific piers, and the gates are grouped by where you are flying — Schengen (the EU passport-free zone) or non-Schengen, which needs a passport check. KLM and its SkyTeam partners run most of their long-haul flights from piers D, E, F and G, while low-cost carriers cluster around H and M.
- Hall 1 — piers B and C, mostly Schengen flights (Pier B ~14 gates, Pier C ~21 gates)
- Hall 2 — pier D (split-level: lower non-Schengen, upper Schengen) and pier E
- Hall 3 — piers F and G (intercontinental) plus H/M (low-cost, airside-isolated)
- A380s are handled at gates G9, E18 and E24
Schengen vs non-Schengen — why the gates are split
The single biggest thing to understand on the map is the Schengen / non-Schengen divide. Flights within the passport-free Schengen Area (most of the EU) skip border control, so those gates sit in the open airside zone you can roam freely. Flights to or from outside Schengen — the UK, US, Asia and beyond — pass through passport control, and those gates are grouped behind it.
This matters for connections and walking time. If your two flights are on opposite sides of border control, budget extra minutes for the passport check and any security re-screening. Pier D is the clever middle ground: its lower level handles non-Schengen gates (roughly D1–D57) and its upper level handles Schengen gates (D59 and up), so a single pier serves both worlds on different floors.
- Schengen gates — no passport check; freely connected airside
- Non-Schengen gates — behind passport control; allow more time
- Pier D — non-Schengen below, Schengen above
- Border control now uses eGates and the EES biometric system for non-EU arrivals
How the levels stack up
Schiphol is laid out vertically as well as horizontally, and knowing the floors saves a lot of confusion. Arrivals are at ground level, opening straight onto Schiphol Plaza, the car parks (P1), the hotels and all ground transport. Departures and check-in are one level up, split east–west: halls 1 and 2 with piers B–E sit on the east side, and hall 3 with piers F, G and H/M on the west.
Above departures, the next level holds many of the lounges and sit-down dining and links through to gates D, E, F and G, while the top of the building is the open-air Panorama Terrace for plane-spotting. The train platforms run beneath everything, one level below Plaza, which keeps the whole transport network within a short escalator ride of arrivals.
- Ground — Arrivals, Schiphol Plaza, parking, hotels, ground transport
- Departures level — check-in halls 1–3 and pier access
- Lounge level — lounges, restaurants, access to D/E/F/G gates
- Below Plaza — train station platforms
Schiphol Plaza — the hub that ties it together
Schiphol Plaza is the ground-floor public concourse beneath the departure halls and in front of the arrivals exits — the one place every passenger passes through. It is free to enter without a flight and packs in a supermarket, pharmacy, food outlets, ATMs, ticket desks and the official meeting points, all in a single open space. There is even an annexe of the Rijksmuseum and an airport library if you have time to fill before a flight.
Crucially, Plaza is where arriving passengers come out and where every transport link begins. When directions say “meet at Schiphol Plaza” or “head to Plaza for the train,” this central concourse is what they mean. Luggage lockers are available here too, typically from around €7 for 24 hours if you want to explore the city between flights.
Where the train, bus and taxi are — and what they cost
All public transport is reached from Schiphol Plaza, not the gates. The train station is one level below Plaza: take the escalators or lifts down to the platforms, where direct trains reach Amsterdam Centraal in about 17–20 minutes, up to 8 times an hour between 05:30 and 01:00, with hourly night trains in between. A single second-class ticket is roughly €5.90–€7.10 (add €1.60 for a single-use chipkaart if you are not paying contactless); first class is about €11.50. Trains also run direct to Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.
Buses leave from street-level stands just outside the Plaza doors. The Airport Express bus 397 boards at stop B17 to the right of Plaza, costs €6.50 single or €11.75 return (the official Connexxion fare), takes about 30 minutes and runs every ~10 minutes by day (hourly Niteliner N97 at night) to Museumplein, Leidseplein and Elandsgracht — note it is not covered by GVB city tickets. A metered taxi from the marked rank runs about €35–€55 (sometimes up to €75), and Uber or Bolt roughly €40–€65. The train is almost always the cheapest and fastest choice. For all options compared side by side, see the full Schiphol Airport guide.
- Train — below Plaza; ~17–20 min to Centraal; single ~€5.90–€7.10
- Airport Express bus 397 — stop B17; €6.50 single / €11.75 return (Connexxion fare); ~30 min
- Taxi — official metered rank only; ~€35–€55 to the centre
- Amsterdam Travel Ticket (train + bus 397 + GVB) — €23 (1 day)
Lounges, transfers and walking times
Lounges sit airside, spread across the piers, and Schiphol groups them roughly by destination — European flights, intercontinental flights and a separate area for budget carriers — so check the screens for the nearest one to your gate rather than backtracking. Contractual lounges such as KLM Crown, Aspire and partner SkyTeam lounges are all signposted once you are through security.
Because everything is one terminal, transferring means staying airside and walking (or riding the moving walkways) to your next pier; allow more time for any connection that crosses passport control. Walking distances are modest end to end across the halls — roughly 5–12 minutes — but the furthest piers, especially the airside-isolated H and M gates, can add 15–20 minutes from central security, so give yourself a comfortable buffer. For real-time gate changes and walking estimates, the official Schiphol app is the most reliable map of all.
