Kaagbaan (west)
If you often hear and see aircraft from your house, there’s a good chance you live under a flight path to and from the runways at Schiphol. But do you know which route is associated with which runway(s)? Read on to find out everything you need to know about the runways and routes the aircraft use.
Aircraft approaching from the North Sea to land on the Kaagbaan Runway circle over Katwijk, Noordwijk and Oegstgeest and fly above the A4 motorway. They descend further at Abbenes and Nieuw-Vennep before landing at Schiphol. Planes flying in from an easterly direction make their approach above Amsterdam and Hoofddorp. Those coming in from a south-westerly direction fly over Leiden.
Departing aircraft take off in the direction of Nieuw-Vennep and then:
head west towards Kaag and Sassenheim before climbing further above Katwijk or Noordwijkerhout;
fly in a north-easterly direction, turn between Hoofddorp and Vennep and then go over Spaarnwoude;
fly south over Leimuiden before flying over Nieuwkoop or over the area to the south of Mijdrecht.
Aircraft that land on the Polderbaan Runway during the day either approach from the East or the North Sea. Flights from the East pass over the Markermeer lake above Volendam before making a turn above Krommenie and flying straight towards the Polderbaan Runway. From the North Sea, aircraft fly in over the dunes between Wijk aan Zee and Egmond, turn over Uitgeest and descend above the A9 motorway, Spaarndam and Haarlemmerliede before landing on the runway next to Vijfhuizen.
At night, landing aircraft approach from an easterly direction over the Markermeer lake and then head towards the North Sea via Hoorn and Heerhugowaard. Just like the flights that approach from a south(westerly) direction, they then follow a fixed flight path between Limmen and Castricum before flying to the north of Uitgeest towards the Polderbaan Runway.
Departing aircraft ascend over Haarlemmerliede and Spaarndam, then:
fly in a north-westerly direction over Velsen and then IJmuiden or Wijk aan Zee;
turn in a north-easterly direction above Uitgeest and Beemster towards Hoorn;
turn above Wormerveer and Zaandijk to fly in an easterly direction;
turn above Amsterdam West and Amstelveen to fly in a southerly direction.
Aircraft coming in to land on the Aalsmeerbaan Runway from the South make their approach from an easterly or south-westerly direction. Planes coming from an easterly direction fly over Weesp, the municipality of De Ronde Venen and Woerden, while those coming from a south-westerly direction fly over Katwijk, Leiden and Alpen aan de Rijn. These aircraft then turn above Bodegraven-Reeuwijk and Nieuwkoop before descending over Uithoorn and Aalsmeer and flying straight towards the Aalsmeerbaan Runway.
Aircraft that take off from the Aalsmeerbaan Runway climb over Aalsmeer and Uithoorn, then:
- eastbound flights turn towards De Ronde Venen and then fly above Wijdemeren or Weesp; - southbound flights fly above Nieuwkoop, Bodegraven-Reeuwijk and Woerden.
Aircraft coming in to land on the Zwanenburgbaan Runway from a northerly direction approach from the East above the Beemster and Graftdijk and then turn south over the area between Alkmaardermeer and Wormerveer. They then descend towards Schiphol over Krommenie, Assendelft, Halfweg and Zwanenburg.
Departing aircraft ascend in a northerly direction over Zwanenburg and Halfweg, then:
eastbound planes fly over Zaandam and the IJmeer lake;
southbound flights circle above Amsterdam West, Amstelveen and Uithoorn.
The air traffic coming from the South to land on the Zwanenburgbaan Runway almost always comes from the direction of the North Sea and flies over the area between The Hague and the Maasvlakte. After flying south of Zoetermeer, they head north and make their descent above Zwammerdam and Aarlanderveen before reaching the Zwanenburgbaan Runway via the Westeinder Plassen lake and Aalsmeer.
Departing aircraft take off towards the South and then:
fly in a south-westerly direction above Rijsenhout and Abbenes before either flying via Lisse and Noordwijkerhout or via Sassenheim and Katwijk towards the North Sea;
fly over Rijsenhout and then turn towards the North over Hoofddorp and Vijfhuizen before flying in the direction of Zaanstad and Hoorn;
continue south over the Westeinder Plassen lake and Kudelstaart before ascending towards Nieuwkoop and Bodegraven;
head towards the South East via the Westeinder Plassen lake, Kudelstaart and De Ronde Venen before flying either towards Baambrugge (North), Breukelen (East) or Vleuten (South East).
Aircraft coming in to land on the Buitenveldertbaan Runway approach above Almere and Muiden and descend over Bijlermeer, Amstelveen North and the Amsterdamse Bos recreational area, before landing at Schiphol.
Departing flights climb over Buitenveldert before:
turning above Diemen and the IJmeer lake to fly in a northerly direction;
flying over Amsterdam South East and Wijdemeren in an easterly direction;
turning in a south-easterly direction above Amstelveen, Mijdrecht and Leidsche Rijn;
turning in a southerly direction above Amstelveen, Uithoorn and De Ronde Venen;
turning in a south-westerly direction above Amstelveen and Uithoorn;
turning in a north-westerly direction above Amsterdam West, Spaarnwoude and IJmuiden.
The Schiphol-Oostbaan Runway is mainly deployed for general aviation, private jets and helicopters. In the event of a south-westerly storm, commercial aircraft may land on the Schiphol-Oostbaan Runway. In that case, air traffic approaching from the direction of Volendam and Monnickendam fly fairly low over Amsterdam North and Amsterdam city centre, descend further over Oud Zuid and the Nieuwe Meer and then land at Schiphol.
Departing aircraft take off in a north-easterly direction and then:
fly towards the East over Amstelveen, Amsterdam South East and Bussum;
fly towards the South, turning above Amstelveen, Uithoorn and Mijdrecht;
fly towards the West, turning above Amsterdam West and heading towards IJmuiden;
fly towards the North, climbing over Amsterdam West and Zaandam;
fly towards the North East over Diemen and the IJ lake.
Would you like to track air traffic in real time? Take a look at the Notifly app or check Schiphol Flight-tracking.
To keep the six runways safe and in good condition, we regularly perform maintenance and other works. Find an overview on this page.
As you know, aircraft engines make noise once they are started, and the closer you are to the source the louder the noise will be. This isn’t usually an issue for people who work with aeroplanes or passengers waiting to fly, but we understand that when you haven’t chosen to be confronted with this noise, it can be a problem. At Schiphol we consider aspects like weather conditions, we also think about the noise that different types of aircraft produce when we’re deciding which take-off and landing runways to use at various times during the day. Find out which runways are currently in use at Schiphol.
Storms, lightning, wind, hail and snow: the weather has a big impact on aeroplanes.
Which flight paths do aircraft follow to and from our runways?
