Blog  ·  20 April 2022High-tech travel at Schiphol

And there’s more self-service technology at Schiphol. The Short Connection Pass allows you to get through the controls faster when you don’t have much time for your transfer. There are Short Connection Units on two piers where many connecting passengers arrive. You just scan your boarding pass and your connection time will be calculated. If it’s a short amount of time, the unit will print out a special pass. This pass gives you access to the Short Connection Lane, so you don’t have to queue for the security and passport checks. A real relief if you’re pressed for time!

Sail through security thanks to our state-of-the-art CT scanners. This technology – which we use throughout the airport to check all hand and hold baggage – means that you no longer need to take liquids and electronics out of your bag when you go through security. So no more rummaging around in your bag to find your laptop and messing up your carefully-packed belongings! It’s also really handy for security staff. The CT scanners allow them to check baggage in 3D and rotate the image 360 degrees, which means they can work more efficiently. Schiphol was the world’s first airport to have all its security filters equipped with CT scan technology.

You may not pay much attention to them, but even the bins at Schiphol are high-tech! They are equipped with special sensors that let our cleaning staff know when it’s time to empty them. So you can enjoy a clean airport. But what happens to your rubbish? You’ll have probably noticed that we separate waste at Schiphol. But did you know that around forty different waste flows are collected and that there are recycling centres under the terminal? It’s our goal to be a zero-waste airport by 2030 and so we strive to recycle as much as we can, from coffee grounds and banana skins, to PET bottles and newspapers.

Besides bicycles, cheese and tulips, the Netherlands is also famous for its windmills. These days, most of them are used to generate green energy. And while you may not associate this country with sunny weather, Schiphol generates its own solar power too. We are using all that clean renewable energy at the airport to power all kinds of vehicles, including the buses that transport you between gate and plane. We aim to be an emission-free airport by 2030, and that means phasing out vehicles that run on fossil fuels.