Uncle Lars

If the virus allows it, I will be transferring at AMS from a KLM flight from Cape Town to a KLM flight to Salt Lake City in three weeks. Hopefully a simple question: is a security check at AMS involved in this non-Schengen transfer, and if so, might I lose a bottle of liquor bought post-security in Cape Town? Thank you.

ninjalad

You will have to clear security, flights from the US are exempt but not others. Not sure about duty free, in a tamper proof bag it should be ok

Goldorak

Yes, sealed bag will be OK.

RoyalSwazi

Goldorak - is South Africa approved for that? Happy to be corrected, but I am under the impression that only certain origins are (eg USA & Singapore, but not Thailand for instance).

Goldorak

Ah ? I had no idea that such distinctions exist. So my answer may have been inaccurate. Apologies if the case.

Porcepic

Coming from these origins, you will not even be controlled at Schiphol during your transit so sealed or not, you will be able to keep your liquids with you.

From SA, a sealed bag should be OK. I would even expect, now that Schiphol is fully equipped with the new scanning machines, that it should pass security in any case. Worst could be your bag to be sent to secondary screening and eventually you might be asked to open it for an additionnal testing. If you have any doubt, just ask at the duty free in SA, they should have experience and will be able to advise you.

Ardecos

Actually there is a security check on KLM flights arriving from Singapore, possibly because the flight originates in Denpasar.

Lakeviewsteve

Do you really think the tax free savings is worth carrying that bottle around?

NickB

What a strange statement. The size of the travel duty-free liquor market is somewhere in the region of US$10 billion annually. This would suggest that quite a few people consider that it is worth their while to buy bottles to carry around to their destination.

On the OP's question, while I would not be willing to bet my life on it, my understanding is that EU airports will now let you through with liquor purchased at any airport or on any airline as long as it is properly sealed in an ICAO-compliant STEB bag, making sure that the receipt for the purchase is inside the bag and can clearly be read and shows that the purchase was made within the last 36 hours.

johan rebel

Quite. But then you get those who don't. They are most likely in the majority too.

It would never occur to me to schlep duty-free products around just to save a few bucks. I travel HBO and as light as possible, the last thing I want to do is weigh myself down with booze. I buy what I want (not much) from the nearest liquor store, at whatever price they are selling it for. And that despite the fact that I live in Sweden at least part-time.

Johan

NickB

Sure but those people would not ask the question that the OP asked. If the OP asked the question, that is because (s)he sees a benefit in buying duty-free liquor at an airport over buying it at his/her local retailer (which, incidentally, may be for other reasons than just savings: there could be other reasons, such as limited availability at destination, for instance).

I could understand the question if buying alcohol at an airport duty-free was an outlandish thing to do that few people did. But given that hundreds of thousands of passengers routinely do this, I find the questioning of the OP's desire to purchase duty-free alcohol rather surprising. It is a bit like somebody answering "Why don't you go to London instead? London is so much nicer than Paris" to a query about hotel recommendations in Paris.