Amsterdam Airport Schiphol provides 4 out of 5 passengers with information in their native language

The Self Service Units at the airport offer information in the 17 most common languages, meaning that 4 out of 5 passengers at Schiphol can be helped in their own language. Travellers can choose from Dutch, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Greek, Ukrainian, German, Danish, Norwegian, French, Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, Japanese and Korean.

At the Self Service Units, travellers can look up their flight information, consult maps and find answers to the most frequently asked questions. A selection was made of the most spoken languages at Schiphol so that the service would be as straightforward and user-friendly as possible.

“Providing travellers with information in their own language is an important part of improving the quality of our service. We are constantly monitoring how travellers experience this service – they can give feedback. The first reactions have been positive. Travellers have said that it is user-friendly and that it enhances travel comfort. Based on these user experiences, we can further improve the service and add even more languages,” said Sjoerd Blum, Chief Information Officer at Royal Schiphol Group

The launch of the translation service was achieved in cooperation with IT company Atos. The ultimate goal is to provide all passengers with information in their own language. The service will also be extended to the special kiosks for the travellers with a short transfer time. English content is used as the basis for the translations, which are done in real time by Google Translate. This translation service is supplemented by a list of specific aviation terms that was translated by an international group of native speakers.

21 May 2021