747 Freighers at AMS

Boeing 747 Freighters at Amsterdam Schiphol
Pictorial tribute of the Queen of the Skies
By Michael Prophet

This is a short introduction, my name is Michael Prophet and I am an Aviation journalist and photographer, since the early 80s. I have worked all my live in the Aviation Industry, serving plenty of years with Fokker Aircraft, Airbus and KLM. Over the years I have grown a fondness for the classic Jets (DC-8s & B707s) and piston engine propliners, such as the Douglas DC-6s, Curtiss C-46 Commando and Lockheed Constellation. Perhaps most off you know me, in connection with the iconic Douglas DC-3.

Living close to Schiphol airport gave me lots of opportunities to go out and photograph airplanes. Schiphol airport has lots of spotting location, depending on the wind and take-off or landings to stand and photograph. During the early years 80/90s I was shooting with colors prints and later with Ektachrome - Kodachrome slides. During those early years it was a joy to photograph those primarily commercial jets that visited Schiphol on a daily basis, like TWA L-1011 Tristar’s, Panam B747’s, CP Air B747s, KLM DC-10s ect. Over the decades many of these classic jets and propliners have dissapeared from the aviation scene, leaving us with lots of boring B737s and Airbus types.

I have always admired the mighty Boeing B747 “Queen of the Skies” and have been lucky to sample many flights on her. Currentl my last B747 flight was onboard a regular KLM commercial flight from Amsterdam to Hato Curacao airport (Dutch Antilles) back in 2021.

This page is a pictorial tribute to the Boeing B747 freighters that still fly into Schiphol airport on a daily basis, hope you enjoy these images.

Ps: for those wishing to photograph at Schiphol Airport hereby a Airport Guide, provided by Scramble: https://www.scramble.nl/planning/airfield-guide/netherlands/amsterdam-schiphol

'Retro' CARGOLUX Boeing B747-400ERF LX-NCL blasting out of Amsterdam - Schiphol airport center - runway 18C-36C. 01 September 2024.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, known informally as Schiphol Airport (EHAM/AMS), is the main international airport of the Netherlands (NL), and is the main base for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Transavia, TUI, Corendon, KLM CityHopper and one of the major hubs for the SkyTeam airline alliance. It is located 9 km southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province of North Holland.
Currently (2023) it ranks as the 3rd busiest airport by international passengers. With an annual cargo tonnage of 1.74 million, it is the 4th busiest in Europe. Schiphol is also well known for its 6 runways layout, with runway 04-22 for general aviation and its latest runway “The Polderbaan” 18R/36L the longest capable of handling the Big Jets (B747s & A380s).

Schiphol has and is playing a major role in the European & International cargo scene, plenty of cargo planes from all over the globe can be seen here. It has become the logistical hub for numerous cargo airlines. Several of the major cargo ground handling agents, such as Worldwide Flight Services, dnata, Air France KLM Martinair Cargo, Menzies Aviation Netherlands B.V. Swissport Cargo Services and more, operate from Schiphol.
The top 10 cargo airlines are (2023/2024) are KLM cargo, China Southern Airlines, Qatar, Martinair, China Cargo airlines, Emirates, Air China Cargo, Etihad, Atlas Air and Silk West Airlines.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia – Royal Schiphol Group.