How will Brexit affect you at Schiphol?

You’ve heard and read all about it: Brexit. Our British neighbours are planning to leave the European Union. We can expect to get some clarity about the effects of Brexit in the coming days. Deal? No deal? Or a delayed Brexit? We’re keeping a close eye on developments, whilst at the same time putting measures in place so we’ll be prepared in case the United Kingdom leaves the European Union. How will this affect you at Schiphol?

Flying to the United Kingdom from Schiphol
Let us put your mind at rest right from the start: little will change for travellers with Dutch passports. You’ll be able to carry on flying from Schiphol to the United Kingdom. Did you know that our airport has the best connections with Britain? You can fly with six airlines from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to no fewer than 26 destinations in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 10.5 million people fly between Schiphol and the United Kingdom every year, with 2.7 million of those passengers catching a connecting flight at Schiphol.

Flying to Schiphol from the United Kingdom
When you travel from the United Kingdom on a Dutch passport you’ll notice one thing: Dutch Customs will inspect your passport more carefully, because the United Kingdom will no longer be covered by EU agreements on the import and export of goods. There will be more consequences for passengers with British passports. In addition to going through a stricter Customs check, these passengers will cross the border into the European Union at Schiphol. That means they will also face a more comprehensive check by the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. This will require extra personnel, as well as extra desks and of course extra time to make sure all the necessary processes go smoothly and passengers can continue to enjoy a comfortable journey.

Preparations well underway
Fortunately, at Schiphol we and our partners have been working on this for a while. Dutch Customs is deploying more than 100 extra customs officers in time for Brexit. The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee is currently testing out mobile Passport Control desks for British passports. We want to keep waiting times for people travelling on British passports down to a minimum to make sure these passengers catch their connecting flights. To make this possible, Schiphol and the European Union have agreed that transfer passengers from the United Kingdom will not be required to put their hand baggage through security a second time – just as in the pre-Brexit situation. And measures are already in place to ensure that departing passengers with British passports can continue to use the automatic passport control gates.