Everyone wants to get away on a holiday to relax — but it seems like the airport is the final obstacle before you can finally rest.
And of all the airports in Europe, the beloved (or dreaded?) Amsterdam Schiphol Airport was named the second most stressful hub, according to StressFreeCarRental.
What makes Schiphol so stressful?
Schiphol was given flack for being one of the busiest airports in Europe, for charging passengers €113.50 to park there for a week, and for its high departure delay score. 👀
It doesn’t make up for the delays, but I can’t stop watching the genius clock at #Schiphol airport 👀 ⏰ 🎨 #Amsterdam #delay #BA #ESCCongress2023 #ESC2023 pic.twitter.com/5LYh9QJDN6
— Ian Mcleod (@GE_IanMc) August 29, 2023
Another stress-inducing factor is Schiphol’s distance from Amsterdam’s city centre.
READ MORE | Chaos at Schiphol: why the biggest Dutch airport is struggling so much
But to come to the airport’s defence, public transport in the Netherlands has many easy and convenient options to get you to and from the airport — so we’re not counting that one. 😉
The criteria and rankings
To find Europe’s most stressful airports, they were ranked based on these five stress-inducing factors:
- Number of passengers,
- Distance from the city,
- Number of destinations,
- Car parking charges, and
- Departure delays.
READ MORE | Here’s why flights from Schiphol will soon be more expensive
Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France, took first place, scoring high on departure delays, passenger volume, and expensive parking charges.
Curious about the rest of the list? Check it out:
| Rank | Airport | Country |
| 1 | Charles de Gaulle | France |
| 2 | Schiphol | The Netherlands |
| 3 | London Heathrow | The United Kingdom |
| 4 | Rome | Italy |
| 5 | Athens | Greece |
| 6 | Madrid | Spain |
| 7 | Lisbon | Portugal |
| 8 | Dublin | Ireland |
| 9 | Berlin | Germany |
| 10 | Zagreb | Croatia |
Have you flown through any of these airports? Tell us about your experiences in the comments below!
You don’t want a big airport like that too close to a city. The noise would be unbearable. And in any case trains stop underneath the airport. So easy.
And the airport in Geneve, CH is also well away frim the city centre, so is the San Francisco International Airport which is located in a different county altogether. Ive been to the airport in Roma, many years ago. As I recall that wasnt any better than the aforementioned airports. O’Hare and DFW aren’t much better, either. I’ve been through Schipol many times. I just know to take mass transit or Uber.
I’ve flown out of Paris CDG many times and once they had a massive computer failure, in 2023, so there were incredibly long lines for passport control. I arrived at the gate literally 5 mins before it opened, having left the hotel more than five hours before take-off! I didn’t need to use my razor that day, because Paris CDG gave me this close shave.
> Another stress-inducing factor is Schiphol’s distance from Amsterdam’s city centre.
Are you insinuating that Schiphol is far from Amsterdam center?
Let’s take a look at a few examples:
1. Amsterdam -> Schiphol: 20.8 km
2. Vienna -> Vienna International Airport: 21.3 km
2. Paris -> Charles de Gaulle: 25.2 km
3. London -> Heathrow: 25.9 km
4. Berlin -> Brandenburg: 28.8
5. Rome -> Fiumicino: 30.7 km
6. Athens -> El. Venizelos: 35 km