Schiphol Airport's Pier A Opening Delayed to 2027

DALLAS — The new Pier A at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) will now open in April 2027, the airport said on Thursday, adding that it will now cost over €1.4 billion.

According to nltimes.nl, the airport attributed the delay, which includes buffer periods, and escalated expenses to the former contractor.

"Quality problems, delays, and legal disputes did not advance the project," AMS Infrastructure director Sybren Hahn stated. Before it could resume construction, the new contractor, BAM, had to undertake repairs to bring the quality of the terminal pier up to par.

The Telegraaf was informed by sources last month that Schiphol needed to borrow €400 million to pay for the pier construction's rising expenses. According to the reports, the airport intends to raise fees by 50–60% in order to cover the cost of the loan as well as other expenses.

Schiphol has eight piers, lettered B, C, D, E, F, G, H and M, whose corridors see airplanes park and from which passengers board their flights.

A or E?

Schiphol's users might have noticed that the the pier's alphabetization skips over A and then jumps from H to M.

The reason is that the English pronunciation of "A" sounds too similar to the Dutch pronunciation of "E" and could cause confusion when passengers and AMS employees try to communicate. Therefore, AMS decided to forgo a Pier A to minimize any chance of misinterpretation.

The new pier will add another eight gates. Once open, will AMS name it Pier A? Hahn states that BAM is certain it will be able to turn over the pier's keys in December 2026.