sheltiepup

Please forgive the naivety behind this question. I'm planning my first ever international trip (yay! It only took me until 40 to get there) and I'm concerned about the trip over there.

I'm flying MSP to AMS and then on to AMZ.

We have a 90 minute layover in AMS.

Is that going to be enough time? I guess I don't know if we need to get through customs and if that's going to take awhile? Or if we're going to have to get clear to the other side of the airport to catch the flight to AMZ?

I suppose that I should have asked these questions before we booked the flight... now I'm "worried."

Thanks in advance for answering!

Rubicund

You won't have to go through customs and your bags will be transferred internally to your new flight at Amsterdam. If your flight from Minneapolis is on time, you should be OK.

However, Schipol is a big airport anjd you need to check terminals for arrival and departure. Minneapolis via Europe then to NZ seems a long way round?

capxxx

Also, assuming this is a connecting flight on one itinerary (i.e. you didn't book the two flights separately), it is the airline's responsibility to allow reasonable connection times. So the airline thinks it should be enough time, if you don't dawdle.

sheltiepup

It's MSP to Amsterdam to Aberdeen, UK.

Thanks for the replies

uhoh_busted

You should be fine. Schipol is a cool airport, and English is spoken by many of the employees so you shouldn't be concerned about asking anyone for help if you get confused. 90 min is plenty of time.

hetismij2

You will be fine. The distances are not huge, and you will have plenty of time. No passport control if your bags are checked through. You should be issued your boarding pass at MSP for the onward flight, in which case you just look at the screens for where your gate is. If you don't have a boarding pass then you can get one at the transfer machines. Easy to use and always someone there to help.
Security will be at the gate so get there in plenty of time.
Don't buy dutyfree in the US to take on your second flight - it will be confiscated.
If your bags aren't checked through it will be a bit tighter but should still be doable - go through passport control collect your bags, go to departures, recheck your bag - you can use a machine probably, and go back through.

tarquin

Schipol is a nice airport, but big and can be confusing. Ask for help when you arrive if you are in doubt.

29FEB

Aberdeen is ABZ

suze

If your flights are on one ticket (and sometimes even if they are not) your bags should go on to your final destination. No going thru customs or immigrations at connection airports.

polly229

If your itinerary is on one ticket, you should have no trouble at Schipol, even if you arrive a few minutes late. (Now, CDG is another story if you're flying an international/domestic combo and have to go between the new terminal and one of the older ones.) But if you're flying in on a mileage ticket, as we often do, and then changing to a paid flight on a separate ticket and your bags are not checked through, it could be a problem. Not sure how packed flights are within Europe - it hasn't seemed as bad to me as the US but I haven't flown nearly as many there as here - but if you miss the connection, it could be hours (or hours and hours) before you can get on another flight. Also, if it's a non-refundable ticket, you'll be out some money. We try to avoid flying in on a mileage ticket and out the same day on a paid one, but when we have done it, we've allowed a little more time.

sheltiepup

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the help!

We're flying on a paid ticket and I would hope that they'll check bags through. We plan on having 2 checked suitcases (one for me, one for my husband) - hopefully no more.

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly!

Southam

As others indicate, Schiphol is about as efficient as a big airport can be.
Three tips: http://www.schiphol.com/index_en.html will give you lots of details, including advice about transfers, and you can print out appropriate maps to supplement the info on the closed-circuit TVs. Double-check those monitors in case your departure gate gets changed. Second, if flying Delta, you probably will be changing to KLM or KLM Cityhopper for the leg to Aberdeen. Don't worry: It's a joint operation with Delta. But you can write down the Delta and KLM flight numbers so you won't be confused.
And third, even if for some reason you miss the scheduled connection, there probably are later flights you will be placed on. Check the Delta site to print out all the daily flights to Aberdeen and carry it as backup.