Mess in AMS today - April 2022 onwards
Jun 5, 2022, 10:24 am
#797
Join Date: Jun 2022
Programs: Flying Blue Gold | Marriott Titanium
Posts: 169
Not likely, as the whole point of getting people to check their carryons is to speed things up at security. That will be done and over with by the time you board.
Here's one way they could do something about those horrendous queues: send fewer bags to secondary. Schiphol's goal is officially <10%, but as long as they man the scanners with inexperienced, incompetent and insecure staff whose only goal is to cover their behinds and who therefore send every single bag to secondary about which they have the slightest doubts, that's not going to happen. They are lucky if <10% doesn't go to secondary.
And here's another solution: instead of checking every single pax and every single bag, exempt 25% or so, randomly selected. I know, I know, laws, rules, regulations, nanny state risk aversion, general hysteria, etc. etc. But from a safety perspective I can't see it making much of a difference. Who's going to get in line for security with a bomb in his backpack if the chance of getting caught is 75%?
Johan
Here's one way they could do something about those horrendous queues: send fewer bags to secondary. Schiphol's goal is officially <10%, but as long as they man the scanners with inexperienced, incompetent and insecure staff whose only goal is to cover their behinds and who therefore send every single bag to secondary about which they have the slightest doubts, that's not going to happen. They are lucky if <10% doesn't go to secondary.
And here's another solution: instead of checking every single pax and every single bag, exempt 25% or so, randomly selected. I know, I know, laws, rules, regulations, nanny state risk aversion, general hysteria, etc. etc. But from a safety perspective I can't see it making much of a difference. Who's going to get in line for security with a bomb in his backpack if the chance of getting caught is 75%?
Johan
Jun 5, 2022, 10:47 am
#799
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: HAG
Programs: Der 5* FTL
Posts: 8,061
This isn’t about your case specific but how to optimize the process. Training of the security staff is one measure but also training inexperienced pax is another.
There are packing mistakes that can be avoided.
PS: you could have packed the deo stick in a see through bag then it probably would went through😉
There are packing mistakes that can be avoided.
PS: you could have packed the deo stick in a see through bag then it probably would went through😉
Deo stick was in the bag.
Jun 5, 2022, 11:08 am
#800
Join Date: Jun 2012
Programs: FB, M&B, UA, AA
Posts: 2,489
Jun 5, 2022, 11:11 am
#801
Join Date: Jan 2022
Location: VLC
Programs: FB Plat (Y3), All Accor Gold (Y2)
Posts: 643
My bag went to secondary because of an e-cigarette, which isnt allowed to be checked in.
my bag went to secondary almost every time because of it, even taking it out of the bag and placing it visible next to it causes the same thing to happen.
once the line of other secondary check bags is processed, usually the person having to check looks at the monitor, shrugs, and tells me it's ok.
at this point in time I just instantly tell them "it's the e-cig isn't it?" - it seems like it speeds up the process.
my bag went to secondary almost every time because of it, even taking it out of the bag and placing it visible next to it causes the same thing to happen.
once the line of other secondary check bags is processed, usually the person having to check looks at the monitor, shrugs, and tells me it's ok.
at this point in time I just instantly tell them "it's the e-cig isn't it?" - it seems like it speeds up the process.
Jun 5, 2022, 11:48 am
#802
Join Date: Jun 2012
Programs: FB, M&B, UA, AA
Posts: 2,489
My bag went to secondary because of an e-cigarette, which isnt allowed to be checked in.
my bag went to secondary almost every time because of it, even taking it out of the bag and placing it visible next to it causes the same thing to happen.
once the line of other secondary check bags is processed, usually the person having to check looks at the monitor, shrugs, and tells me it's ok.
at this point in time I just instantly tell them "it's the e-cig isn't it?" - it seems like it speeds up the process.
my bag went to secondary almost every time because of it, even taking it out of the bag and placing it visible next to it causes the same thing to happen.
once the line of other secondary check bags is processed, usually the person having to check looks at the monitor, shrugs, and tells me it's ok.
at this point in time I just instantly tell them "it's the e-cig isn't it?" - it seems like it speeds up the process.
Jun 5, 2022, 11:50 am
#803
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: BRE
Programs: Flying Blue Ultimate, LATAM Black, Vistara Gold, Accor/IHG Platinum, Marriott/Hilton Gold
Posts: 480
Seeing that 16:45 Hamburg flight being cancelled today (and yesterday) is not giving me too much hope for the weekend where I need to be on that flight to make it home on KLM. If it gets cancelled before my long-haul leaves, I hope they will at least let me make it to AMS so that I can take a train home if nothing else, rather than cancelling the whole trip (or worse, put me on the AF 2-3-2 config business class flight for a 12hr trip).
Jun 5, 2022, 11:53 am
#804
Join Date: Jan 2022
Location: VLC
Programs: FB Plat (Y3), All Accor Gold (Y2)
Posts: 643
Even a (used) cloth handkerchief in my hand caused a discussion, but me reasoning I don't want to put it in the bins and then use it on my face again was enough to convince them I could keep it in my hand.
the time before I kept it in my pocket. Boy was that a security risk! Now I just make sure to bring paper tissues and keep them in my bag.
but about the e-cig... Imagine me having to walk back, waiting for an empty bin, then having it go to the scanner, then going to the body scan once more. That's about as much time wasted as not removing it from my bag and waiting for secondary. At least there, there's a slim chance it won't go to secondary.
I think out of 20 recent security passes, 15 went secondary because of it. 1 because I forgot about an aluminum water bottle with water in it, which was totally avoidable.
Weirdly enough only AMS has issues with the e-cig, as no other EU airport ever has an issue with it.
I believe Split airport has the same scanners for bags (looks the same from the outside), and they also didn't have any issues with it.
Last edited by b12e; Jun 5, 2022 at 12:01 pm
Jun 5, 2022, 1:53 pm
#805
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 760
Jun 5, 2022, 2:39 pm
#808
Moderator: Aegean Miles+Bonus
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: AMS / ATH
Programs: AFKL Plat, A3 Gold
Posts: 7,340
Not sure what was going on weather wise but also CDG was pretty bad today.
Flew into CDG from ATH on the CS300. Nice aircraft. But we had to wait 40 min at the gate due to ‘weather’ at CDG. Upon landing the purser told me (after me asking ..) that my connection to AMS is at -15 minutes (ie you’ll miss that one). Got me upset as there aren’t any CDG-AMS flights available for days to rebook onto..
Upon landing turns out that due to that same weather also the AMS flight is delayed by an hour due to the aircraft coming in late. And that seemed to be the trend. Many people from the ATH flight were freaking out and running to make connections. Parking at 2G and bussing to 2F didn’t help either.
But anyway I made it, but barely. Seems even CDG is having issues.. at least today. The majority of flights this afternoon were late.
Flew into CDG from ATH on the CS300. Nice aircraft. But we had to wait 40 min at the gate due to ‘weather’ at CDG. Upon landing the purser told me (after me asking ..) that my connection to AMS is at -15 minutes (ie you’ll miss that one). Got me upset as there aren’t any CDG-AMS flights available for days to rebook onto..
Upon landing turns out that due to that same weather also the AMS flight is delayed by an hour due to the aircraft coming in late. And that seemed to be the trend. Many people from the ATH flight were freaking out and running to make connections. Parking at 2G and bussing to 2F didn’t help either.
But anyway I made it, but barely. Seems even CDG is having issues.. at least today. The majority of flights this afternoon were late.
Jun 5, 2022, 2:40 pm
#809
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 14,352
On another occasion they had for some incomprehensible reason decided that all bags containing laptops, tablets etc. (in other words, every single bag) would have to go to secondary, where pax had to remove their devices and present them for manual inspection. That sure helped speed things up.
And then there are the instances where they have come to the conclusion that the priority lane is just the place to train spanking new staff, probably hired that very same morning.
Only the other week the priority lane ground to a halt after a shift change, as nobody on the new shift seemed to know the log-on credentials for the secondary terminal. It took four of 'm to figure it out, after interminable consultations.
Did somebody say inexperienced? Or should that be clueless?
Johan
Jun 5, 2022, 2:51 pm
#810
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 14,352
A colleague also made it through in 25 minutes today. To some extent it appears to be a matter of luck. Pax numbers at security seem to fluctuate widely during the day, if you get there at the right time its just like any normal day. If not . . .
I'm curious to see if things will have calmed down somewhat by Tuesday. I'm one of 18 (12 in, six out) on 12 different KL flights and one RO. That's 13 potential delays or cancelations.
Johan
I'm curious to see if things will have calmed down somewhat by Tuesday. I'm one of 18 (12 in, six out) on 12 different KL flights and one RO. That's 13 potential delays or cancelations.
Johan