BigFlyer

Schiphol is experimenting with automatic biometric border gates: http://www.government.nl/news/2012/0...l-airport.html

Unlike Privium, there is no pre-registration - it looks at your face with a camera and compares it to the image embedded in your passport chip.

Yes, I know that the Privium queues may still be a bit shorter, and that Privium gives you a priority security check for Schengen flights. It just seems that if this is widely implemented, the Privium advantage will be much smaller.

irishguy28

Don't know/don't care, but the new e-gates are fantastic! Breezed through the other day while everyone else decided instead to line up and talk to the Marechaussee.

Would be great if they were already deployed for arrivals, too. Though when I arrived at Schiphol last week, I experienced something new - not a single person at the passport control (i.e. not even a single staffmember in the booths either). As I dithered outside the office to the right, a guy came out and looked at my passport on the spot before waving me on.

johan rebel

What stopped you from just sailing through instead of dithering? Where the lanes physically closed? If the KMar cannot be bothered to man the desks, then tough on them, I would say.

Indeed, and I know they are acutely aware of this. To make Privium worthwhile, they will need to do two things:

1. Ensure that the Privium lanes provided the fastest and most hassle-free option, every single time. This means resolving such issues as non-Schengen to Schengen, where regular pax are allowed to crowd the Privium security checkpoints just about all the time, as well as the central D-gate security checkpoint, where the same thing happens.

2. Add more Privium benefits. The new direct access to the B & C gates is an example of this, ensuring that the Club Lounge stands head and shoulders above the competition is another.

Johan

irishguy28

No, there were no tensabarriers up, so nothing to stop anyone walking straight through - but knowing that the KMar office is adjacent, I knew that I would be seen and immediately called back (with whatever sense of urgency or anger, I didn't want to find out) and given a more thorough inspection than I would otherwise have warranted.

I was rushing for a train, so I didn't want to rock any boats (or miss any trains). I knew someone would be out almost immediately - as indeed was the case.

COFF-Platinum

Privium is pretty much a parking subscription only for my travel patterns, so killed it years ago when they started jacking up the cost.

I do hope that these Biometric gates work a bit faster than the ones in the UK. Last time they took at least a minute per person to get through, 40 seconds of which is spend staring into a camera. Felt like there is a bloke sitting in a remote office who still needs to press/click a button to open the gate.

irishguy28

The ones in the UK are slow - but perhaps a more rigorous check is performed as they are for people entering the UK.

The ones in Schiphol are much quicker - but these are so far only for people leaving the Netherlands - a check that the UK doesn't even bother to make.

GenevaFlyer

For me, Privium has one added benefit, living in the US .... being enrolled in Global Entry.

Cheers,

GenevaFlyer

MichielR

Which is indeed the case. A few weeks ago at LHR it took a long time and then the red light went on. The guy in the booth then explained to me exactly what his problem was in matching the photo on his screen with the camera image on his screen...

irishguy28

I would imagine that the images are only forwarded to an agent when the facial recognition software is unable to match the biometric image with the image taken in the booth. It can hardly be that each booth has its own agent who verifies every entrant.

mfkne

Wait, are you also suggesting that there are no little people working in vending machines for drinks? Oh no, my world has just collapsed

irishguy28

Don't be silly - I'm not suggesting that! It's been established as fact in the the field of vending machines.

yocko

but the horror is that you need privium to acces flux that enrolls global entry... the money i spend on that is gross

GenevaFlyer

I know ... but skipping the long lines reminds me why I spend the money every time ....

GenevaFlyer

johan rebel

I took the elevator up from the lounge to Schengen security today. Definitely an improvement, for two reasons: you don't need to scan your card anymore, and should there be any queues you bypass them and go straight to the front.

Johan

mayodave

I used them last weekend and it was great as my co worked who has a Taiwan passport also was able to use it as he has the chip style passport now issued in Taiwan, would be great if they put them into that horrible section when having to go through into Schengen area from non schengen