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1 hour connection at AMS to LIS

Greetings all,

I am looking for some insight regarding my upcoming travel plans, and layover time between flights in Amsterdam. We will fly from Canada to Amsterdam, and then a connecting flight on to Lisbon, Portugal. We will be flying between Schengen Area countries (with a Cdn passport). I believe we will not leave the airport secured areas, so I don't expect to be in any long lines for security. Our layover time is 1 hour which may be tight. We will not have checked bags, only carry on.

Can you please share your experiences with me regarding the above and provide any helpful advice?

Thanks in advance!!

Posted by
2643 posts

This is a pretty frequent topic, if you search on "short layover Amsterdam" you'll get plenty of suggestions. Here's one example with some helpful links https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/flight-connection-schiphol

FWIW I would not assume there will be "short lines" for security, last September there were extremely long lines for transiting passengers. There are exceptions for very short connections, but I've never risked finding out how that works.

Posted by
1551 posts

You left out a piece of crucial information; did you book this all on 1 ticket? In that case it’s the airline’s responsibility to get you to Lisbon should you miss your connection.

Coming from Canada, you don’t need to go thru security. You will however have to go thru passport control to enter the Schengen Zone.

The website of Schiphol Airport has a detailed guide about transferring, I suggest you to check it out https://www.schiphol.nl/en/blog/all-about-your-transfer-at-schiphol/

Posted by
1095 posts

When I was there in April, I had a relatively long layover between my arriving flight from the States and the connecting flight to Gdansk. There was a VERY long line at the passport control to the Schengen area.

First, there is a permanently mounted sign above the queue requesting that passengers not get into line until their connecting flight was two hours away. Secondly, they had airport personnel working the line - those with short connection times were directed to the short connections line. Third, there is a short connections video monitor which lists the flights eligible for using the short line.

Note that AMS is quite large, so walking time should also be factored into your calculations. When I returned to go through passport control the short line started at the end of the maze - I figured that it would have taken approximately 30 minutes to to get from the arrival to departure gates with a short line.

I was on a KLM Cityhopper flight - we were put on a bus to take us to the plane - boarding was closed at the last bus, 15 minutes before departure time.

So your arrival time will also be a factor - you can check FlightAware or another site to look at your flights ontime performance.

Posted by
2 posts

Thanks all!. And, yes, it was on a one-ticket booking with one airline (KLM).

Posted by
2643 posts

Sorry, earlier answer I gave I meant passport control not security (oops!). That Schengen line was very, very long. As has been noted you could have quite a hike between your gates and if any are remote gates then I'm afraid you may be cutting it very close and that is if your arriving Canadian flight is on time. Plot your route and get an idea of how crowded it will be on the airport's travel planning page https://www.schiphol.nl/en/my-travel-day/today/arrivals and take every action possible to maximize your transit time (see if you can get seats near front of plane, use bathroom on plane before you land, make zero stops anywhere but passport control, etc.)

It is better news that you're on a single ticket, as the airline will have to get you on the next available flight if you miss your connection. However that doesn't mean the VERY next flight - it's what has seats available. So I would do some preparation work in advance - look to see what KLM options are available to Lisbon after your scheduled flight, as well as other airlines so you have that information.

Posted by
61 posts

Hi, not to dampen your spirits, but we just got back from Amsterdam and Belgium. When we landed from the US in Amsterdam the passport control area was chaotic. There were lines once you approached the gates for the agents, but before that it was a sea of people, luggage, and everything in between. It did move pretty quickly though, but it was jarring to come from your quiet flight and walk into this. Passport control was easy (how long are you staying?, business vs leisure travel?, stamp and out the door).

Posted by
7950 posts

KLM thinks it is enough time, so trust them. I have went through AMS with short connections 2-3 times now, including to Lisbon from the US, and every time I was at the gate well before boarding started.

Your experience will go something like this:

You very well may land early, depending on the jetstream, so possible you gain a little time. Once you get off the plane, you just go out into the international terminal, just follow the signs to "connecting flights".

As you continue to walk down what seem like very long hallways, you will start to see signs for connecting flights, listing specific gates. There is no single immigration point for connecting flights, they break it up into several points, with each serving a section of gates. Just look for the point for your gate, follow the signs, and you will see the line.

At the head of the line will be a monitor and likely an agent, if your flight appears on the monitor, you can move to an expedited line. But even me, with an 1:15 transfer, was not on the monitor. But no worries, the line moves quickly, get your passport scanned and stamped and on your way to your gate.

It is possible you may encounter one of the newer e-gates, may be quicker, people may be confused by what to do, but it is easy, place your passport on the scanner, look at the camera, later they will add finger scans. Right now, with the e-gates they are then still stamping your passport as a second step.