Can I leave the airport on long layovers between international flights?
Im flying from Memphis to Amsterdam to Vienna and ive got a 6 hour wait in amsterdam. Can i leave the airport and explore between flights? My friend said I have to stay in something called a transit lounge. Is this true? Can I not leave?
Air Travel - 3 Answers
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1 :
As long as you have a ticket (boarding pass) that has the Ams/Ven portion on it clearly stating the time and your flights aren't a thru flight you should have no problem leaving. The only way I could see you running into trouble is customs. Sometimes customs can be a little hard to get through and even though you won't be in Ams for long you'll still have to go through customs and that can take up all your time. The transit lounge is there for persons like yourself who have a longer period of time between flights. They are usually very nice and help pass the time faster. Best advice talk to the gate agent when you get off the plane and see what they think they'll know best as they deal with these situations on a daily basis. You're going to love Ven by the way it's a beautiful city.
2 :
6 hours is not a long time for international flights. My best recommendation is to find a seat and get comfortable. Those transit lounges are for the top level of frequent flier programs and those that purchase access to them, ie it costs money like $60 per person for a day.
3 :
As long as you don't require a visa, you're fine to leave the airport. If you're an American you don't need a visa, but will have to clear immigration or passport control. I've been through Schipol Airport a few times and there's a train that takes you right from the airport to the Central Train station not far many tourist sights and other interesting places. It only takes 15-20 minutes each way. You don't have a lot of time, but Amsterdam is one place that's very fast and easy to get into the city from the airport and you should have more than enough time to explore parts of the city.
