How bad is AMS compared to other major Schengen gateways?
I know that many of my non-EU family members with visa-free entry to Schengen have been waved through CDG, MAD and Italian airports without even opening their passport; I've walked into Spain from Gibraltar without showing any sort of document much less opening it.
Been there done that all too.
"Bad" in what way? I consider it good when the processing time per passenger is minimal/reduced compared to other ports of entry/admission into a country or immigration/customs union of sort. Querying more passports against Interpol SLTD at the passport control checkpoints would slow things down.
CDG and AMS overall have been about the same for me and my travel party in terms of whether or not they scan the passport at the passport control checkpoint or open the biodata page; but in more recent years, AMS scans more frequently. Most of the scans are not against the SLTD database. That is speaking mainly about non-EU passports. EU passports are less frequently scanned at EU Schengen ports of entry/admission than non-EU passports.
By scanned here, I'm talking about electronic scans .