Does an Indian passport holder require transit/Schengen visa for a connecting flight via Amsterdam to final destination England

Question

I am moving to England on a work visa in mid of march 2023, I booked a flight from Etihad Airways the flight has 2 stops/layovers (2 hours each) before the UK below is the route.

India > Abu Dhabi > Amsterdam > UK

for the stop at Abu-Dhabi, it was quite easy and clear to know that I do not need any transit visa if my layover is below 4 hours, But for Amsterdam, I found it difficult to know wether I need a transit/Schengen visa or not.

the flight from India to abu-dhabi and abu-dhabi to Amsterdam is operated by Etihad Airways and from Amsterdam is operated by Klm Royal Dutch Airlines, below i have attached a snap of my ticket for better reference

so far I tried to know the Amsterdam transit/Schengen visa requirement by the below channels but was unable to get the clear answer

1. official Netherlands website https://consular.mfaservices.nl/schengen-visa/schengen-advisor/ROKYC/Advisor/Advisor/IntendedStay
2. by calling the KLM customer agent where she said I might not need a transit visa but she was not confident
3. I check a threat Do I need a visa to transit (or layover) in the Schengen area? in this channel as well where I found a similar question but on a broad level for all Schengen areas which didn't answer my question as my concern is more specific to Amsterdam only and for Indian passport holder

I also read an article on schengenvisainfo.com here stating Indians Flying to the UK Can Transit Netherlands Without Transit Schengen Visas But it mentioned it's true only for KLM and not its partner airlines.

Now I am not sure if this applies to my case as I booked my ticket from Etihad and on the ticket, it mentioned operated by KLM so I am not sure if I am exempt from the transit visa requirement.

so far with my research, I found if I only stay in an international transit zone then I would not need any transit visa. here I also tried to find in what cases I might have to move out of the international transit zone but could find a clear answer I also come to know if for any reason if my bag didn't transfer automatedly by flight staff then I will have to move out of international transit zone for transferring my bag from one flight to another which will require a transit visa

I know I have a lot of confusion but I believe many people would have already been in this situation I will really appreciate your help, suggestion, or any hint on this

Answer 1

Do[es] an Indian passport holder require transit/Schengen visa for a connecting flight via Amsterdam to final destination England

No, as an Indian citizen, you do not require an airport transit visa when transiting through the Netherlands (Amsterdam).

As @YusufKhan has pointed out, only the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Spain require an airport visa for Indian citizens.

For the compleate list (link taken from the European Commission link shown below) of which 3rd country nationals require an airport transit visa for a specific Schengen Country, see:

• Annex 7B - List of third countries whose nationals are required to be in possession of an airport transit visa when passing through the international transit area of airports situated on the territory of one/some Member States (PDF)

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In itsself, a United Kingdom visa or residence permit does not exempt their holders from an airport transit visa.

Who must apply for a Schengen visa - Airport transit
You may be exempt from the airport transit visa requirement, if you:

• hold a valid visa or residence permit issued by a Schengen state;
• hold a visa valid for a Member State of the European Union or the European Economic Area, Canada, Japan or the United States ;
• hold a valid residence permit issued by a Member State of the European Union or the European Economic Area ;
• hold a residence permit issued by the Principality of Andorra, Canada, Japan, Republic of San Marino, or the United States, that guarantees unrestricted right of return;
• are a family member of a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland ; hold a diplomatic passport;
• are a flight crew member national of a contracting party to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.

Note: The United Kingdom is not listed.

The United Kingdom German Embassy site is more explicid:

Airport transit visas - [German] Federal Foreign Office
Since the end of the transition phase and the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, UK visas and residence permits do not exempt their holders from airport transit requirements. Nationals of some countries now require airport transit visas even if they hold a visa or residence permit for the UK.