Amsterdam connection
 

We will be flying from Tanzania through Amsterdam with a 50 minute connection and on to Detroit. Is this possible to do? This is a Northwest flight (operated by KLM).

AMS is a very easy airport to navigate. You should be fine. According to NWA, the minimum 'legal' connection time in AMS is 50 minutes, so you should be fine (assuming there are no major delays). http://www.nwa.com/plan/guide08.html

Of course, it will help if you can sit as close as possible to the front on your first flight (Tanzania-AMS), so that you can get out quicker.
Have fun!

Even though it might be the minimum legal connection time I would be worried about missing the plane to Deroit and the ramifications that would hold.

Thanks. I do realize it all depends on the outbound departure, and because it is very early in the morning, we might just make it.

Georgie, how bad could the ramifications be - after all, it's Amsterdam!!! What's another day or two?

An extra day in Amsterdam sounds great, hopefully not at your cost. I just wanted to make sure the animals would get fed and you wouldn't get the sack from work. Have a great time. When are you going?

Sitting in the front of the plane doesn't help. Changing planes is the easy part.... getting your luggage from one plane to the other in 50 minutes is impossible in Amsterdam!

Don't pack anything you can't go without for a few days!

Provided your inbound isn't delayed, it shouldn't be a problem. You just have to walk from your arrival gate to your departure gate. The two times I've arrived at AMS from Tanzania, there was a passport check at the end of the jetway for all passengers getting off the flight. That might make for a little slower deplaning than usual.

Your AMS-DTW flight is operated by NW so I believe there will be a gate "interview" which should only take a few minutes (plus the usual security screening afterwards). But by then, they know you're at the gate already.

There are additional AMS-DTW flights in case you miss your morning connection. Doubt you'll be spending an extra night in AMS and who cares about luggage on the way home! ;)

Georgia - we head back around June 15/16; critters will be fed and work doesn't cause me too much concern.

Sim - I've learned that coming home without luggage isn't too bad. At least I'm not traveling with my son whose luggage ALWAYS gets delayed. I have the honor of saying my luggage has never been delayed/lost (knock on wood!), but my hubby's has on a few occasions. I'll be sure to carry some extras onboard.

we hubbed through Amsterdam ( from Uganda to NJ) and had to go through a bag screen and search both times. 50 minutes to make connections is not enough time at ANY airport. We hung out for 5 hrs between flights, which sounds long, but isn't really. We had breakfast at the food court, E mailed home and window shopped.

The security screening is done at the gate for your flight back to the US so shouldn't be a problem. It's not done in a general screening area which might delay you from reaching the gate in time. 50 minutes is do-able at AMS provided no inbound delays.

Just flew through Amsterdam last week from Nairobi. Very easy nice airpost. However, my outbound from NBO was an hour and a half late. My connection time was 3 hours so it did not matter. I agree with the others, no problem if you are on time.