Connection time in Amsterdam

It meets the law for minimum connection times. The airline would not be able to sell it that way otherwise. If you don't feel comfortable with it then buy a ticket with a longer connection (the options with the 4 hour or 6 hour layover). Either way if you miss the connection the airline is responsible for putting you on the next flight to Zurich.

Amsterdam is not a huge airport and is separated into Schengen and non-Schengen sides with a passport control point between them. This usually only takes about 10 minutes. If you land on time, you should have no problems. If you are running late, there are attendants at the control point and just tell them that your connection is 30 minutes (show your boarding card) or less and they will move you to the head of the line.

If you are really late, and on KLM (or a partner) they can get you on the next flight. My look at the schedule is you arrive at 10:50 am and the connection is at 12:20, Next flight is at 3:15 pm, and if you are really really late, there is a flight at 9 pm.

With one really big caveat...

Either way if you miss the connection the airline is responsible for putting you on the next flight to Zurich.

Assuming you are buying one ticket all the way through. Sounds like that is the case here, but it's worth spelling that out. If this was on two separate tickets, no way would I book that tight connection.

The reply from Jazz assumes you are buying ONE ticket, not two separate tickets. The distinction is important.

Well I looked at the flights from Tampa that go through Amsterdam on the way to Zurich so it was easy to conclude one ticket

Yes, it is on one ticket - Delta.

Lori,
We usually fly into Amsterdam on Delta (one ticket) and fortunately we’ve been on time. That said, our usual layover is about 3 hours. We have had great experiences due to their well organized system. It’s difficult to advise because of the possibility of the unexpected. As previously mentioned having one ticket would give you more choices if needed.

In March we flew to Porto via AMS. Our Delta flight arrived a bit late, so we had only about 30 minutes to make our connection. They had people in the passport check area that were pulling people with short connections out to expedite them. We made our connection with 5 minutes to spare. Love this airport, especially after connecting in CDG the previous trip.

A huge airport is CDG, JFK, ORD, LAX, DFW, LHR, and even BOS, EWR, PHL, DEN, ATL.

Went thru there last summer enroute Budapest and passport control went very fast. A hour and a half would have been plenty.

A few years ago we came home thru there from Basel with a 2 hour connection time and barely made it. Passport control had long lines then Delta had another security line before we could get down their wing. We had gone thru security in Basel as well. They were moving people whose flights were leaving sooner to the head of the passport control line as needed. Also got tagged for a bomb residue wipe down of our hands at the gate so maybe something was going on security wide that day.

It was a madhouse a couple of years ago as we flew thru there from Spain to DC. Long queues, people huffing and puffing and trying to get in front of others because “I’m going to miss my flight” but those other people were going to miss their flight, too. So lots of tempers and a bad situation.

Secondary security is now standard for flights to the USA. You won't have to worry about that going from the USA to a destination in Europe. Coming home, probably.

I flew Delta in Oct. with a change in Amsterdam to KLM. I Had 1 hr 15 min between flights. When I booked, I had a little more time, but Delta changed it. I got to Amsterdam a little bit early, and made it to the next flight with a few minutes to spare. Returning home, I had 2 hr between flights, and made it to the plane as they were just starting the boarding process. It took a lot of time to get through passport control. They did help the people that had very short connection times.

I am looking at flights to Zurich coming from Tampa. I am interested
in one that flies into Amsterdam from Tampa where I would have 1h
30min to connect with flight to Zurich. Is this enough time?

How much of a gambler are you? Amsterdam is efficient but I still allow a bare minimum of 2 hours. Worse, if your inbound from Tampa is late, if you are on one itinerary, you'll have to wait for next flight to Zurich with seat availability. That may not be the next flight or the one after that. If your flight to Zurich is on a separate ticket/itinerary, you will have to buy a new ticket to Zurich. If that were a roundtrip between Amsterdam and Zurich, you'd have to buy a new roundtrip ticket.

I frequently do 90 minute connections at AMS (on a single ticket, of course!) -- have done as short as 70 minutes without difficulty.

Love this airport, especially after connecting in CDG the previous trip.

Well, CDG is a low bar. But yes, I have found AMS to be very well organized, and fairly quick. 1 1/2 hours should be plenty.