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The problem you describe mostly exists for London. JFK is crowded but not as overcrowded as LHR. And FRA just (7 years ago) got a new runway, they're not close
by dx034 9y ago
The problem you describe mostly exists for London. JFK is crowded but not as overcrowded as LHR. And FRA just (7 years ago) got a new runway, they're not close to runway capacity. Other hubs in Europe (e.g. AMS) are also below capacity.
- mcv 9y agoAMS below capacity? Then why are they already eyeing the small (hobby/sports) airport Lelystad for expansion? I think the Dutch government is a bit too concerned with turning Schiphol into a major European hub.
- tallanvor 9y agoI believe the main problem with AMS is terminal capacity. The runways can handle plenty of traffic, but they're constrained by terminal space. They're building, but the current plans are only increasing capacity by around 10%. It sounds like the Dutch government is trying to reduce the need for AMS to grow further by making it possible for tour operators and maintenance operations to take place at Lelystad.
- TillE 9y agoMy experience with transferring at Heathrow is that they shove everybody into one insanely crowded terminal, and then about fifteen minutes before boarding you have to rush to another terminal. I'm sure there's some weird justification for that, but it's incredibly bad design.
- dx034 9y agoI assume you talk about terminal 5. I'm not a fan departing from 5B or 5C but in most cases that's announced at least 20 min before boarding and you can easily make it there in 5-10 min (most of which is spent waiting for the train). I experienced twice that the announcement came a bit later but then they kept the gate open later to ensure everyone makes it.
- willyt 9y agoThey will probably have certain contractual obligations regarding dwell times in the main terminal building for the shops and restaurants to extract maximum cash from passengers before they go out to the satellite buildings. Privately operated airports like T5 are massive shopping malls, the planes are an afterthought.
- cr1895 9y agoSchiphol terminals are bursting st the seams during the summer and fast approaching the 500,000 “air transport movements” allowed by law. http://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2017/04/amsterdam-airport-overcrowded/ http://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2017/04/amsterdam-airport-over...