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I am expected to arrive at AMS (Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands) from a non-Schengen country, Singapore, with Singapore airlines. That is on one ticket. I am now planning to buy an additional separate ticket from AMS to TLV (Tel Aviv, Israel), so another non-Schengen country. The AMS -> TLV ticket will likely be with the airline KLM.

My question is whether I would be able to stay airside in AMS, in the international transit area, and not clear immigration, between arriving from SIN and departing to TLV. Note that I will travel with carry-on baggage only.

Some potential issues I thought of that I might have if I want to stay airside:

  1. Once I land, I would not be let into the transit area without clearing immigration because I am not in transit on a single ticket. Is there some kind of check upon entering the transit area that may exclude me?
  2. I would not be allowed to board because I haven't gone through landside check-in (maybe they need to do some document check there, which wouldn't be done for me if I have an online/mobile check-in boarding pass?).
  3. Any other possible issues?

Note that I am technically allowed to visit the Netherlands with my passport, but would just prefer to go directly to the airside transit area without needing to clear immigration and customs and all that.

Thank you.

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Once I land, I would not be let into the transit area without clearing immigration because I am not in transit on a single ticket. Is there some kind of check upon entering the transit area that may exclude me?

There's no "transit area." There's an area for Schengen flights and one for non-Schengen flights. You will arrive in and depart from the latter, of course, so you will be able to go to your departure gate without clearing immigration or customs.

I would not be allowed to board because I haven't gone through landside check-in (maybe they need to do some document check there, which wouldn't be done for me if I have an online/mobile check-in boarding pass?).

There's a transit desk in the non-Schengen area where you can check in for your departing flight if you haven't done so online. The airline staff can check your documents there. If you do check in online, they will check your documents at the departure gate.

Any other possible issues?

Don't forget to account for possible delays in your first flight. If you miss the second flight, you'll be treated as a no-show, which can be expensive. Once you've allowed for that, you might want to reconsider your plan to spend the entire layover in the airport.

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  • Are you sure you can arrive in Holland, from Singapore, and not clear customs?! IDNKT
    – Fattie
    Commented Feb 23, 2018 at 16:01
  • @Fattie if you don't remain in Holland, yes, absolutely. In fact, even if you're flying to another Schengen country, you'll clear immigration in AMS, but customs only in your final destination. The customs checkpoint is after baggage claim; if you don't leave the secure area of the airport, you do not clear the customs checkpoint.
    – phoog
    Commented Feb 23, 2018 at 16:24
  • Hi, hoping to clarify something. When you say there is a transit desk, does that apply to any airline departing from AMS? or is it unique to KLM? Thank you very much for the help.
    – joliver
    Commented Feb 25, 2018 at 17:05
  • @joliver it's been a while since I've been there, but as far as I remember the signage implies that it's for all transit passengers. I am not sure how that would work exactly, though, so if you're interested in using it for a non-KLM flight, more research might be in order.
    – phoog
    Commented Feb 25, 2018 at 18:15

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