Connecting at Amsterdam Schiphol: how much time you need

Amsterdam Schiphol publishes minimum connection times for flights booked on one ticket: 50 minutes between two Schengen flights and 60 minutes between a Schengen and a non-Schengen flight, in either direction. So one hour meets the airport's minimum for both of those connections, as long as your first flight lands on time.

Minimum connection times at Schiphol

The airport doesn't list a separate figure for a connection between two non-Schengen flights. If you travel with assistance, it asks for a transfer time of more than an hour and a half.

These minimums are for flights on one ticket. If you booked the flights separately, no minimum protects you: if the first flight is late, the second airline doesn't have to wait or rebook you. Leave yourself a real margin, and read what happens if you miss a connection.

Schengen or not: where your gate is

Schiphol keeps the two kinds of flights apart. Departure Hall 1 and Lounge 1 serve flights to Schengen countries. Flights outside the Schengen area leave from Lounges 2 and 3, which are connected to each other. Moving from Lounge 1 to Lounge 2, for example from a Schengen flight to a non-Schengen one, means going through passport control again.

Once you know your gate, follow the yellow signs to it.

Passport control and security

• Between Schengen and non-Schengen flights, in either direction, you go through passport control again. From a Schengen flight to a non-Schengen one you may also have to go through security again.
• Security again or not depends on where you come from. According to the airport, you don't go through security again if you arrive from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Cyprus, Serbia (Belgrade flights only) or a Schengen country.
• The Entry/Exit System (EES): registration has been mandatory since 10 April 2026 for travellers from outside the EU who cross the Schengen area's external border. The airport notes that face scans and fingerprints aren't yet always recorded at Schiphol. If you connect from one non-Schengen flight to another, you don't register, because you don't cross that border.

Keep an eye on the first flight

Before you travel, add both flights to FlyingOver while you're online. You can then follow the first flight offline and see its estimated arrival, so you know early how much of your 50 or 60 minutes is left. Once you're back online, times update with live data.