Schiphol international flight; online check in, deadlines and arriving
I am planning to check in for my flight online. How do I find out what the deadline is for arriving/going through customs etc?
The only information I can find is that you should 'try and be there 2 hours before your flight is scheduled', but what is the actual deadline and does this time change when you check in online?
I have always learned it is better to arrive 3 hours before on international flights, is this true?
Obviously I'm planning on arriving there at least 2 hours before but I feel more comfortable knowing the exact deadline in case something happens. Security on the road to Schiphol has been tight and who knows what else can cause a sudden delay these days.
Best Answer
The deadline depends on where you are flying to. If you fly within Schengen area, you won't need to go through immigration control so you'll save this time. Immigration control can take anywhere between 5 minutes and 1 hour depending on the time of the day and day of the week. So if you are flying within Schengen area, if you don't have luggage to check in, I would advise you to arrive at least 1 hour before the flight. If you have luggage to check in, add 30-40 minutes to that.
Then, if you are flying outside of Schengen area, you can probably add 20-30 minutes so this leads us to 1h30 to 2h00 before the flight to be on the safe side.
Arriving 3 hours before the time is the "official" recommendation delivered by many companies. This is a way for them to shape the timing of arrivals of passengers and avoid situation where all the passengers would arrive 1h before the flight for an A380...
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How long to arrive before flight Schiphol?
Come to the airport max 4 hours before your flight. Read more. Come to the airport max 4 hours before your flight.What time do I need to be at the airport if I have checked in online?
Online check-in when to arrive at the airport Normally, you will need to arrive at the airport at least 90 minutes prior to your scheduled departure time if you have baggage to check-in for an international flight.What is the latest check-in time for international flights?
When you're traveling outside of the United States, we make the suggestion to arrive at least 3 hours prior to your departure. You must be checked in at least 1 hour before your scheduled departure. Additionally, we recommend being at the gate and ready to board 45 minutes before your scheduled departure time.How long before your flight should you arrive at the airport?
The TSA advises arriving at the airport two hours before your flight for domestic travel and three hours before for international travel. If you're traveling during peak times like early morning or evening, or during holidays and other events, please plan accordingly and allow for extra time.KLM Schiphol Transfer \u0026 Arrival information
More answers regarding schiphol international flight; online check in, deadlines and arriving
Answer 2
I flew out of Schipol a couple of weeks ago and the security lines were over 40 minutes at one point. That said, if your flight is departing soon, normally you talk to a member of staff and get ushered to the front of the line.
Answer 3
Hard deadline for luggage drop-off is 40-45 min for European destinations (technically depends on the airline), 60 min or more for intercontinental destinations and then you obviously need to make it to your gate in time.
Even if there might be some queues 2 hours is therefore perfectly fine for European destinations, 3 hours is not necessary in my opinion but it can give you some additional buffer/peace of mind. KLM does not recommend more than that for most flights and other airlines/terminal are usually just as quick in my experience.
There are a few exceptions however, for KLM for example:
Moscow: 2.5 hours before scheduled departure
Guayaquil: 70 minutes before scheduled departure
Delhi, Paramaribo and Lagos: 4 hours before scheduled departure
Mexico-City: 4.5 hours before scheduled departure
So do check with your airline if they have specific recommendations (Google "AMS + check-in time + airline name").
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