Schiphol building new terminal by 2019 to bring in more passengers

Schiphol airport is expanding. The airport and KLM reached an agreement for the transfer of a KLM building, where Schiphol plans to build a new terminal which should increase the number of passengers to 62 million. The first phase of the expansion, a new pier, will open in 2019.

Schiphol CEO Jos Nijhuis made this announcement at an aviation meeting in Noordwijk on Monday, the Telegraaf reports.

The new pier that is expected to be put into use in 2019, will be used for large aircraft for intercontinental traffic. The new terminal will become operational in 2023.

The initial plan was to have everything in use by 2018, but the terminal will take longer due to complex renovations. The negotiations with KLM also took longer than expected. Sources within Schiphol told the newspaper that the management also wants to wait and see how the clientele develops before spending large amounts of money on infrastructure that may never be used.