First new security filter operational at AMS
Dec 8, 2019, 11:44 am
#631
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 14,352
The transfer filter was a breeze last week. Nobody in line, new scanners, no need to remove anything, no secondary. A jaw-dropping experience. The priority lanes were closed, but there was no need for them. I've never seen them open, but I rarely transfer at Schiphol.
Johan
Johan
Dec 10, 2019, 8:28 pm
#632
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: Flying Blue Platinum, JetBlue Mosaic, Hyatt Globalist, Alaska MVP Gold.
Posts: 1,962
Same? I'll probably jinx myself saying this but the last few times it has been flawless going through with the 'everything stays in the bag' rule. No random secondaries, friendly orderlies, quick... what happened?
Jan 2, 2020, 10:23 am
#633
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 14,352
Went through the one and only priority lane at what remains of T1 security. Turned out to be priority in name only, because although two agents were supervising the access point, there was nobody doing so at the other side. As a result all the regular pax were self-prioritizing themselves into the "priority" checkpoint. Great! Then the trays ran out, and when the supply resumed the trays were only fed to one of the three loading stations. Needless to say, that was the one farthest from me, so I was left high and dry until an agent finally grabbed some for me before the regular pax who had arrived later than I laid their hands on them.
I had two carry-ons, one of which was a backpack that I only use occassionally. This backpack contained absolutely nothing that could possibly warrant a secondary check. The contents consisted of clothing and reading materials. Having finally gotten trays, I removed the usual suspects from my regular bag (i.e. half the contents) and sent everything through. On the other side I kept a beady eye on the agent manning the screen. This lady, on the other hand, was not exactly keeping a beady eye on that screen, she seemed more interested in her surroundings and her colleagues. She didn't even glance at the screen as my bags went through the scanner, yet she sent my backpack to secondary! Maybe she was trying to reach some self-imposed quota. The agent at secondary put the backpack in the scanner, pulled it straight out again, and gave it back to me with the words "alles in orde, hoor".
What a great way to spend a quarter of an hour!
As an aside, Schengen to non-Schengen immigrations was a zoo on steroids as I walked past, even though all the biometric checkpoints were open. Huge lines, with desperate pax with (presumably) short connections trying to fight their way to the front.
Johan
I had two carry-ons, one of which was a backpack that I only use occassionally. This backpack contained absolutely nothing that could possibly warrant a secondary check. The contents consisted of clothing and reading materials. Having finally gotten trays, I removed the usual suspects from my regular bag (i.e. half the contents) and sent everything through. On the other side I kept a beady eye on the agent manning the screen. This lady, on the other hand, was not exactly keeping a beady eye on that screen, she seemed more interested in her surroundings and her colleagues. She didn't even glance at the screen as my bags went through the scanner, yet she sent my backpack to secondary! Maybe she was trying to reach some self-imposed quota. The agent at secondary put the backpack in the scanner, pulled it straight out again, and gave it back to me with the words "alles in orde, hoor".
What a great way to spend a quarter of an hour!
As an aside, Schengen to non-Schengen immigrations was a zoo on steroids as I walked past, even though all the biometric checkpoints were open. Huge lines, with desperate pax with (presumably) short connections trying to fight their way to the front.
Johan
Jan 3, 2020, 2:16 am
#634
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: AMS
Programs: FB plat for life
Posts: 316
[QUOTE=johan rebel;31900311On the other side I kept a beady eye on the agent manning the screen. This lady, on the other hand, was not exactly keeping a beady eye on that screen, she seemed more interested in her surroundings and her colleagues. She didn't even glance at the screen as my bags went through the scanner, yet she sent my backpack to secondary! Maybe she was trying to reach some self-imposed quota. [/QUOTE]
AFAIK the screen next to the checkpoint is linked to another checkpoint - in other words the person watching the screen is not deciding over your stuff going secondary but over that of someone at a different check point. That way - they cannot misread people or be influenced by the pax....
AFAIK the screen next to the checkpoint is linked to another checkpoint - in other words the person watching the screen is not deciding over your stuff going secondary but over that of someone at a different check point. That way - they cannot misread people or be influenced by the pax....
Jan 3, 2020, 2:27 am
#635
Join Date: May 2010
Programs: Delta Silver, HH Gold, Accor Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 5,340
Interesting read: Hoe controleert Schiphol je bagage?
Jan 3, 2020, 3:06 am
#636
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 14,352
AFAIK the screen next to the checkpoint is linked to another checkpoint - in other words the person watching the screen is not deciding over your stuff going secondary but over that of someone at a different check point. That way - they cannot misread people or be influenced by the pax....
- everything takes much longer and a lot more bags aret sent to secondary at checkpoints where an operator is being trained? I've only rarely had the misfortune to get a checkpoint where training is being carried out, so the sample is small, but in all those instances the effect was noticeable.
- everything comes to a temporary halt when the operator is replaced for some reason? It is not the belt at another checkpoint that stops, but the one where a new operator is taking over.
- when I was loading my trays at a checkpoint where just about every bag was going to secondary, suddenly no bags at all went to secondary after the operator was replaced? I got the impression that the new guy pragmatically decided to just clear the backlog as quickly as possible by not being too finnicky.
In any case, there was no reason whatsoever to send my backpack to secondary yesterday, no matter who the screen operator was. When I got home I emptied it completely just to see if I had left something in there that might in some way have aroused suspicion, but found nothing at all.
Johan
Jan 3, 2020, 6:45 pm
#637
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: Flying Blue Platinum, JetBlue Mosaic, Hyatt Globalist, Alaska MVP Gold.
Posts: 1,962
Interesting read: Hoe controleert Schiphol je bagage?
They indicate their stupid experiments with machine learning led to one in five (ONE IN FIVE) bags to get flagged for secondary, and that it's down to a whopping one in ten now. Absurd. I think they're talking about false positives here.
Jan 4, 2020, 3:04 am
#638
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 14,352
Jan 5, 2020, 1:19 am
#640
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: AMS
Programs: Flying Blue Platinum | Flying Blue Petroleum | Hilton Gold | Marriott Gold | Shangri-La Jade
Posts: 306
I'm really starting to wonder what apparently I do differently, I always breeze through without any bag going to secondary, ever...
Jan 5, 2020, 8:51 am
#641
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 14,352
Jan 5, 2020, 10:12 am
#642
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: AMS
Programs: Flying Blue Platinum | Flying Blue Petroleum | Hilton Gold | Marriott Gold | Shangri-La Jade
Posts: 306
Jan 5, 2020, 3:36 pm
#643
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: Flying Blue Platinum, JetBlue Mosaic, Hyatt Globalist, Alaska MVP Gold.
Posts: 1,962
Their marvelously smart 'machine learning' 3D scanners that no doubt cost about 50 times more than the standard issue machines they use in US airports have managed to mark my camera lenses as suspicious 100 out of 100 times. It always has to be checked, and swabbed. No other airport has this issue. Machine learning? 
Jan 6, 2020, 4:26 am
#644
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: HAG
Programs: Der 5* FTL
Posts: 8,031
Their marvelously smart 'machine learning' 3D scanners that no doubt cost about 50 times more than the standard issue machines they use in US airports have managed to mark my camera lenses as suspicious 100 out of 100 times. It always has to be checked, and swabbed. No other airport has this issue. Machine learning?
The "experimental" new body scanner, that used to be on the leftmost post in Dep 1 security, is now on that random security spot after passport control from S to NS side.
I really really hope they didn't estabilish the random screening port just for that trial to continue...
Jan 6, 2020, 7:35 am
#645
Join Date: Jun 2017
Programs: FB Plat
Posts: 195
Their marvelously smart 'machine learning' 3D scanners that no doubt cost about 50 times more than the standard issue machines they use in US airports have managed to mark my camera lenses as suspicious 100 out of 100 times. It always has to be checked, and swabbed. No other airport has this issue. Machine learning?