Snapshot
Over the next couple of years the Netherlands’ principal gateway, Amsterdam/ Schiphol International Airport will be celebrating two significant centenaries.
In October, flag carrier and locally based KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will mark 100 years since the launch of its passenger services, and only 14 months later the airport itself will commemorate the same important milestone of commercial operations – although the airfield first came into existence in 1916 as a military air base.
In this selection of images from Ron Mak’s collection, taken during the early 1970s, there is a fascinating mix of older piston and turboprop types that used to frequent the skies over the Dutch capital, as well as several early jet transports, the majority of which have long since been retired.
Many of the airlines featured have also been confined to the history books, although KLM, Aeroflot and Surinam Airways continue to ply their trade.
