Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport has announced a €3 billion investment allocated for improving the overall quality of the travel hub’s services. Concretely, from 2024 to 2027, the airport will go through a major renovation for “catching up on maintenance and upgrades”.
Important parts of the airport infrastructure – including Pier C, the baggage basement, climate-control systems, walkways, aircraft stands and taxiways – are due to undergo major maintenance or need renewing. “This is needed in order to ensure the quality that Schiphol wants to offer employees, travellers and airlines”, the airline said in a statement.
After too much of a focus on costs and growth for many years, we must now play catch-up in order to offer employees, travellers and airlines the necessary quality.
Ruud Sondag, Schiphol Airport CEO
“Quantity took precedence over quality and that didn’t do the assets at our airport any good. Things need to be done differently and investments need to be made in our location and facilities to align everything with our quality and sustainability ambitions. (…) Of course, we’ll do everything we can to limit the risk of consequences for travellers and airlines, but some inconvenience cannot be ruled out”, said Schiphol Airport CEO Ruud Sondag, who earlier this year called 2022 a bad chapter in the airport’s history, after it failed to accommodate the strong rebound in passenger traffic, leading to increasing chaos.
Schiphol has already started renovating Lounge 1, aiming to solve bottlenecks by expanding parts of the lounge, adjusting walkways and expanding the range of services. The airport has also started the partial development of Lounge 2. More than 200 walkways and lifts are being renewed over the coming years and 18 passenger bridges replaced.
At the moment, BAM, the contractor completing the construction of Pier A, is still doing preparatory works, including finalising the detailed constructions plans. Schiphol expects to be able to give an update on the planning for the definitive completion phase in Q2 2024. In the meanwhile, other contractors (including Heijmans and VolkerWessels) have helped to make the pier wind- and waterproof and half of the aircraft stands are ready. The remaining aircraft stands will be ready for the operation in January 2024.
Pier C, which dates back to 1967, is also up for renovation with improvements in technology, systems, sustainability, spatial layout and seating.
Large sections of the current baggage system are due to be replaced. Once the new baggage basement has been built, the airport expects to have enough capacity to replace the existing baggage system. Moreover, to ease the physical workload of employees, the airport is adding lifting aids for baggage handlers. There is now a lifting aid at half of the 385 work locations in the baggage halls, every work location being set to have a lifting aid by April 2024.
To improve the work environment for staff, over the coming years, 136 rest areas and 224 toilet blocks for employees are going to be renovated.
To improve sustainability, fossil fuel-powered vehicles are being phased out in the coming years, from baggage tractors to hotel shuttles. The hub is also getting off the gas grid for heating and cooling systems in certain parts of the terminal, as well as thermal storage.
Over the next few years, necessary maintenance of asphalt and concrete on the airport grounds will increase, including renovation of aircraft stands and taxiways. To improve airside safety, the project to make Quebec a dual taxiway will be completed within the coming years.