Transit airport

If you are traveling from point A to point C, any airport that your plane stops at (point B) for you to get a connecting flight would be your transit airport. 

A transfer passenger is a traveller who is changing from one plane, train, or bus to another, or to another form of transport.

Airport Schiphol

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (Luchthaven Schiphol) is the Netherlands' main international airport, located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer. 

Schiphol is geographically one of the world's lowest major commercial airports. The entire airport is below sea level; the lowest point sits at 3.4 m below sea level, the runways are around 3 metres below Dutch Normaal Amsterdams Peil (NAP).

Schiphol has six runways, one of which is used mainly by general aviation aircraft. The northern end of the Polderbaan, the name of last runway to be constructed, is 7 km north of the control tower, causing lengthy taxi times (up to 20 min) to the terminal. Plans have been made for a seventh runway.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol contributed significantly to the Dutch economy. By creating jobs, for example: at Schiphol around 62,000 people work for some 500 companies. 
Passengers travelling from, to or via Schiphol contribute € 11 billion to the Dutch economy
and account for a total of 170,000 jobs in the region.


Shareholders
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol shareholders are:

• State of the Netherlands - 69.8%
• City of Amsterdam - 20.0%
• Aéroports de Paris - 8.0%
• City of Rotterdam - 2.2% 

Airlines
The airport is the primary hub for KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines). Schiphol is KLM’s homebase. Since May 2004, Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have become the largest European airline group.

The airport also serves as a European hub for Delta Air Lines and as a base for Vueling, Arkefly, Corendon Dutch Airlines and Transavia. 

Schiphol is an important European airport, ranking as Europe’s 4th busiest and the world's 14th busiest by total passenger traffic in 2011. It also ranks as the world’s 6th busiest by international passenger traffic and the world’s 17th largest for cargo tonnage.

• 43.5 million passengers passed through the airport in 2009.
• 45.3 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010, a 4% increase compared with 2009.
• 49.8 million passengers passed through the airport in 2011, a 10% increase compared with 2010).

In 2009, around 67% of passengers using the airport flew to and from Europe, 12% to and from North America and around 9% to and from Asia; cargo volume was mainly between Schiphol and Asia (45%) and North America (16%).


Major European Airports
Schiphol's main competitors in terms of passenger traffic and cargo throughput are London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt, Madrid, Rome Fiumicino, Istanbul, Munich, London Gatwick, Barcelona and Paris Orly.

Airport	Passengers (x 1000) in 2011	Change 2010-2011
London Heathrow	69,433	5.4%
Paris Charles de Gaulle	60,971	4.8%
Frankfurt	56,436	6.5%
Amsterdam Schiphol	49,755	10.0%
Madrid	49,671	-0.4%
Munich	37,764	8.8%
Rome Fiumicino	37,652	3.6%
Istanbul	37,395	16.3%
Barcelona	34,399	17.8%
London Gatwick	33,674	7.3%
Paris Orly	27,139	7.7%

Middle East and Africa

Climates of the Middle East & Africa.

Population of the Middle East & Africa.

Middle East & Africa: Religion.

Middle East & Africa: Language

Climate

Climate
Climate is defined as the avarage weather conditions at a specific place over a long period. The standard averaging period is 30 years. 
Weather is what the forecasters on the television news predict each day. Weather is elements which we see daily, such as temperature, rain and wind. These can change hour by hour, day by day. Climate on the other hand looks at how the weather changes over a long period of time, typically over 30 years. It can be thought of as the average weather over a long period.

The difference between weather and climate
The difference between weather and climate is a measure of time. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is the average weather in a place over many years. While the weather can change in just a few hours, climate takes hundreds, thousands, even millions of years to change.

Climate classification system
Scientists (e.g. Wladimir Köppen) have been able to define climate zones around the world. Here in the Netherlands, we have a ‘temperate’ climate that is neither especially hot nor cold, wet nor dry, when compared to other climates. It is a very different climate to that in the Sahara for example, which is known as arid because throughout the year the weather is dry and hot.

Wladimir Köppen (1846-1940), was a Russian-born German climatologist who developed a systematic method of classifying the climates of the world based on long-term patterns of the distribution of temperature and precipitation around 1900. His classification remains the most used climate classification system up to the present day.

Climate and vegetation
The distribution of vegetation is strongly correlated with climate patterns.

Weather forecasting

Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a given time and at any one place, with respect to heat or cold, wetness or dryness, calm or storm, clearness or cloudiness. Also, weather is the meteorological day-to-day variations of the atmosphere and their effects on life and human activity. It includes temperature, pressure, humidity, clouds, wind, precipitation and fog.


Weather forecasting
The scientific study of weather is termed meteorology. Attempts to predict future changes are known as weather forecasting. Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location.

Weather forecasts are made by collecting quantitative data about the current state of the atmosphere and using scientific understanding of atmospheric processes to project how the atmosphere will evolve.


Weather station
A weather station is a facility, with instruments and equipment for observing atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. 

The measurements taken include: 

• temperature, 
• barometric pressure, 
• humidity, 
• wind speed, 
• wind direction, and 
• precipitation amounts. 

Weather instruments
Typical weather stations have the following instruments:

Thermometer for measuring air and sea surface temperature

Barometer for measuring atmospheric pressure

Hygrometer for measuring humidity.

Anemometer for measuring wind speed

Rain gauge for measuring liquid precipitation over a set period of time.

Weather stations often use weather balloons. A weather balloon is a balloon which carries instruments and the balloon sends back information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and wind speed. 

KNMI
The Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI = Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut) is known mainly for its weather forecasts and warnings, but is also the national knowledge centre for weather, climate research and seismology.

The KNMI was founded on 31 January 1854. Buys Ballot (1817-1890), its first general director, chose to establish KNMI at the Sonnenborgh observatory in Utrecht. In 1897, the Institute moved to De Bilt, where its headquarters is still located today. 

Compass directions of the wind - mnemonic

Mnemonic - All compass directions of the wind; north east south west:

• Never Eat Shreaded Weat
• Never Eat Slimy Worms
• Naughty Elephants Spray Water
• Never Eat Salty Worms
• Never Eat Soggy Waffles

The Euro zone

The eurozone is an economic and monetary union of 17 European Union member states that have adopted the euro (€) as their common currency and sole legal tender. 

The eurozone currently consists of :

• Austria, 
• Belgium, 
• Cyprus, 
• Estonia, 
• Finland, 
• France, 
• Germany, 
• Greece, 
• Ireland, 
• Italy, 
• Luxembourg, 
• Malta, 
• the Netherlands, 
• Portugal, 
• Slovakia, 
• Slovenia, and 
• Spain. 

Ten countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) are European Union member states but do not use the euro. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sms ff bondige clips

Slovenië, Malta, Slowakije, Finland, Frankrijk, België, Oostenrijk, Nederland, Duitsland, Ierland, Griekenland, Estland, Cyprus, Luxemburg, Italië, Portugal en Spanje.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Member states of the EU - history

European Union, further expansion.

1951
Six countries sign the Coal and Steel Treaty to run their heavy industries – coal and steel – under a common management. In this way, none can on its own make the weapons of war to turn against the other, as in the past. The six are Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Building on the success of the Coal and Steel Treaty, the six countries expand cooperation to other economic sectors. They sign the Treaty of Rome (1957), creating the European Economic Community (EEC), or ‘ common market ’. The idea is for people, goods and services to move freely across borders.

Member States: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

1973
The six become nine when Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom formally enter the EU.

Member States: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

New Member States: Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

1981
Membership of the EU reaches double figures when Greece joins. 

Member States: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

New Member State: Greece.

1986
Spain and Portugal enter the EU, bringing membership to 12.

Member States: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Ireland, United Kingdom and Greece. 

New Member States: Spain and Portugal.

1995
Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU. The 15 members now cover almost the whole of western Europe. In October 1990, Germany was unified and therefore former East Germany became part of the EU.

Member States: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Ireland, United Kingdom, Greece, Spain and Portugal.

New Member States: Austria, Finland and Sweden.

2004

Eight countries of central and eastern Europe — the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia — join the EU, finally ending the division of Europe decided by the Great Powers 60 years earlier at Yalta. Cyprus and Malta also become members.

Member States: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Ireland, United Kingdom, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Finland and Sweden.

New Member States: Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia.

Candidate Countries: Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.

2007

Two more countries from eastern Europe, Bulgaria and Romania, now join the EU, brining the number of member states to 27 countries.

Member States: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Ireland, United Kingdom, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia.

New Member States: Bulgaria and Romania.

Candidate Countries: Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey.

Marshalling yard - Limmattal in Switzerland

The marshalling yard Limmattal near Zurich (Switzerland) is one of the largest marshalling yards of Europe. It is the most important trainstation in Switzerland.

Limmattal is a major railway hub, with services to and from across Switzerland and neighbouring European countries such as Germany, Italy, Austria and France. Serving up to 3,000 trains per day, Limmattal is one of the busiest railway marshalling yard in the world.

 

Aircraft - means of transportation

The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. The Galaxy among the largest military aircraft in the world. It provides the USAF (the United States Air Force) with a heavy intercontinental-range airlift capability.

The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy can carry colossal payloads, for example helicopters and tanks.

Lockheed C-130 Hercules meets Lockheed C-5A Galaxy.

Berge Stahl

The MS Berge Stahl is a Norwegian bulk carrier. The Berge Stahl is one of the longest and largest iron ore carrier in the world (only the MS Vale Brasil is bigger).

The next photo shows the MS Vale Brasil (2011). The MS Vale Brasil is the longest ore carrier in the world.

Landslide

A landslide is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments. Although the action of gravity is the primary driving force for a landslide to occur, there are other contributing factors affecting the original slope stability.

Infrastructure

The term typically refers to the technical structures that support a society, such as: 

• roads, 

• bridges, 

• water supply, 

• sewers, 

• electrical grids, 

• telecommunications, etc.

It can be generally defined as the set of interconnected structural elements that provide framework supporting an entire structure of development. 

is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function. 

Infrastructure is an important term for judging a country or region's development.

When travelers from abroad come to an another country, they sometimes encounter infrastructure problems. 

Like the world's most dangerous roads in the world in Nepal.

Or the most difficult landing in the world in Bhutan.