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Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS): flight delays and compensation

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol – annual passengers: 66+ million (2024). As an EU airport, every flight departing from here is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004. Here is what to expect if your flight was delayed or cancelled here, or you were stranded.

By the EU261 Flight Delay editorial team Last reviewed: Reading time: 6 min How we write our guides

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In short: Any flight departing from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol that arrives 3 or more hours late, is cancelled less than 14 days before departure, or is overbooked can give €250–600 per passenger. Dutch law, 2-year limitation period; enforcement body: ILT.

About the airport

Schiphol is KLM's home base and one of Europe's largest transfer hubs, with connections across Europe, North America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. Transavia, easyJet and other low-cost airlines also operate here.

An EU airport under Dutch law: every departing flight is covered by EU261.

Busiest routes from Amsterdam – and what a delay is worth

The 30 busiest routes on Eurostat’s 2024 data, with the compensation for a 3-hour-plus delay or a late cancellation in each direction.

DestinationPassengers 2024DistanceFrom AMSReturn
Barcelona BCN1,560,9441,241 km€250€250
London LHR1,460,366370 km€250£220
Dublin DUB1,297,903750 km€250€250
Madrid MAD1,229,6391,459 km€250€250
Copenhagen CPH1,159,509633 km€250€250
Paris CDG1,125,321399 km€250€250
Manchester MAN1,083,040487 km€250£220
Lisbon LIS1,045,2721,846 km€400€400
Málaga AGP912,5931,883 km€400€400
Stockholm ARN894,2391,152 km€250€250
Istanbul IST866,3712,183 km€400€400*
Berlin BER827,957593 km€250€250
Zurich ZRH816,734603 km€250€250
Munich MUC808,852664 km€250€250
Vienna VIE779,610959 km€250€250
Rome FCO759,5261,297 km€250€250
Oslo OSL742,457959 km€250€250
London LGW729,604364 km€250£220
Edinburgh EDI685,566666 km€250£220
Frankfurt FRA658,604366 km€250€250
Prague PRG652,228705 km€250€250
Geneva GVA641,328682 km€250€250
Athens ATH632,8802,182 km€400€400
Milan LIN630,511831 km€250€250
Istanbul SAW627,4642,246 km€400€400*
Helsinki HEL606,6771,521 km€400€400
Warsaw WAW599,3571,101 km€250€250
Birmingham BHX592,522442 km€250£220
Alicante ALC580,4051,613 km€400€400
London LTN568,697354 km€250£220

* only with an EU (or UK) airline. Passengers: Eurostat, both directions, routes reported by EU/EEA airports.

Air traffic flow delays at Schiphol (2025)

EUROCONTROL records the delay imposed on arriving flights when the airport or the airspace around it cannot take more traffic (air traffic flow management, “ATFM”). In 2025, 246,511 flights arrived at AMS; 75,710 of them were held back this way, 22,913 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 4.83 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • aerodrome capacity50%
  • weather49%
  • special event1%
  • ATC capacity0%
  • other0%

Average ATFM delay per arrival by month (min)

  1. J
  2. F
  3. M
  4. A
  5. M
  6. J
  7. J
  8. A
  9. S
  10. O
  11. N
  12. D

Worst days: 17 January 2025 – 33,733 minutes, mostly weather; 15 January 2025 – 24,827 minutes, mostly weather; 4 October 2025 – 24,295 minutes, mostly weather.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 180,520 arrivals, 2.82 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025), mainly weather (53%) and aerodrome capacity (46%).

Check what happened at AMS on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (49% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (0%) or airport limits – causes airlines often cite as extraordinary circumstances. They are only part of the story: most long delays come from the airline’s own operation (technical faults, crew, late inbound aircraft), which this data does not show. Source: EUROCONTROL.

Typical delay causes at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

  • In 2022–2023 the airport limited passenger numbers because of its own staff shortages. Whether that is an extraordinary circumstance for the airline is disputed; cancellations the airline decides on itself are not.
  • Government plans to cap the number of flights mean schedule changes. If you are told about a cancellation at least 14 days before departure, no compensation is due.
  • Strong winds from the North Sea limit the runways in use – an extraordinary circumstance.

Airlines you are likely to fly with here

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What happened?Step 1 of 4

What happened to your flight?
Where did you fly from and to?

With a connection, enter your first departure and your final destination – compensation is based on the total distance.

How late did you arrive at your final destination?

What counts is when the aircraft doors opened at your destination – not the departure delay.

When were you told about the cancellation?
When did you arrive on the replacement flight?
Which airline operated the flight?
When was the flight?

How many passengers were on the booking?

1 passenger

Every passenger gets their own compensation, children too. Infants under 2 without their own seat do not count.

  • Free, no sign-up
  • Fee only if successful (35%)
  • AirHelp: Trustpilot 4.5/5

Rather skip the questions? Start a claim with AirHelp straight away

Local information

  • Dutch courts have not settled the limitation period for EU261 claims and some have applied a short one, so claim promptly.
  • If KLM rejects a claim, the Dutch enforcement body (ILT) and the courts are the next steps.

Frequently asked questions

Can I claim compensation for a flight departing from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol?

Yes. AMS is an EU airport, so every flight departing from it is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004, whatever the airline and wherever it is based.

Can I claim compensation for a flight arriving at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol?

If the flight departed from an EU airport: yes, with any airline. If it departed from the UK: yes, under UK261, with any airline. If it departed from elsewhere: only if an EU airline operated it.

How is the length of the delay measured?

By your arrival time at your final destination – more precisely, the moment the aircraft door opens at the gate. It must be at least 3 hours after the scheduled arrival time.

Related guides

Information only, not legal advice. Passenger figures are approximate and based on the airports' published statistics; punctuality figures are from the UK Civil Aviation Authority. We earn a commission when a claim submitted through our partner links is successful.

Sources

  1. Eurostat – air passenger transport routes between partner airports and main airports (2024) – Eurostat
  2. EUROCONTROL – airport arrival ATFM delays (open performance data) – EUROCONTROL

We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.