Crew transport from Schiphol Airport

Why Schiphol is the hub for offshore crew travel

Almost every international crew change in the Netherlands passes through Schiphol. Crews fly in from Aberdeen, Stavanger, Manila, Gdansk, Lagos, Houston and dozens of other points, often on connections that land late in the evening or before dawn. From the airport they still have between 30 minutes and three hours of road travel ahead of them, depending on whether the vessel is in IJmuiden, Rotterdam, Den Helder or Eemshaven.

That final road leg is what we do. It is booked as a single transfer, monitored against the actual flight, and handled by a driver who knows which terminal the crew will emerge from and where a minibus can legally wait with eight offshore bags on the trolley.

Schiphol transfers we run every week

• Schiphol to IJmuiden: roughly 35-45 minutes to the Felison Terminal and the offshore wind quays
• Schiphol to Den Helder: around 75-90 minutes to the offshore base, heliport and Nieuwe Diep
• Schiphol to Rotterdam: 50-80 minutes depending on whether the vessel lies in Waalhaven, Botlek, Europoort or on the Maasvlakte
• Schiphol to Amsterdam port and city crew hotels: 20-35 minutes
• Schiphol to Eemshaven: approximately 2 hours 30 minutes to the Groningen offshore wind terminals
• Schiphol to Vlissingen and Terneuzen for Scheldt and southern North Sea projects
• Schiphol hotels for crews with an overnight stop before sailing or flying onward

Meeting the crew inside the terminal

Drivers wait inside the arrivals hall at the meeting point for the relevant arrivals area, holding a name board with the passenger or company name. The driver's mobile number is sent to the passenger and to the booker beforehand, which matters for crews arriving without a working Dutch SIM.

Luggage handling is part of the job. Offshore crews arrive with survival suits, tool bags, helmets and flight cases, and the vehicle is chosen for that volume before the booking is confirmed rather than improvised at the kerb.

Flight monitoring and flexible arrival times

Every Schiphol transfer booked with a flight number is tracked. Delays, diversions to Rotterdam or Eindhoven, and early arrivals are all picked up by the operations desk, and the pickup is shifted without the booker having to phone in.

Non-Schengen arrivals in particular can spend a long time between touchdown and the arrivals hall. We build a generous allowance into the pickup for those flights and do not charge for airline-caused waiting time.

Departures from the Dutch coast back to Schiphol

Outbound transfers are planned backwards from check-in, allowing for the A4, A9 and A22 at peak times and for the Velsertunnel and Wijkertunnel, which can add half an hour without warning. When a vessel berths late we adjust the transfer rather than cancelling it, and we will tell you honestly when a connection is no longer realistic so you can rebook in time.