It's described as 'screening for horticultural products' :D

I go to AMS 2 x's / year usually solo and that arouses lots of suspicion especially when returning to the US.

At the grilling in AMS before departing I've been asked, "how did you pay for your ticket", "can I see your frequent flier card", "how much money did you spend in the Netherlands", "where did you stay" and I've found that, like the other poster said, just look them straight in the eye and answer truthfully you'll be find.............US customs is a different story.

I've been taken into a room with 2 huge goons and asked to take off my shoes, belt and un button my pants, roll down my sleeves and while this was going on the other guy was going through everything in my suitcase, I mean everything! Finally when they asked to see my wallet I decided to get mad and started throwing around some attitude....their assualt soon ended.

I've since made a friend who works at the INS and he says that I fit a profile of a person that they were looking for ~ BTW this was pre 9/11. Now they know every person on the plane before it leaves AMS and if you're flagged in the database, you're yanked off the plane in the Netherlands.

Also, they are having all kinds of trouble with the Arabic/Muslim community there right now, murders, bombings etc., which makes security that much more "personal"

Oh well, it's back to Schipol in February

My experience departing AMS on UA 947 last week (Nov 11) was unremarkable. Went through both security checkpoints in a snap; no odd questions. Processing through IAD was also simple.

And I was there just after Van Gogh was murdered. Guess YMMV.

I've had the same experiences here, only I've been asked to produce my tour books, maps etc. (And that was prior to 9/11). This is also the only airport where my one (and only) carry on bag was throughly searched, and I've been extensively questioned as to why my trip to AMS was only for 2 days etc. They've also asked me which restaurant/hotel etc I used. I assumed it had to do with either drugs or terriorists, but this is the only airport where this type of 'grilling' has happned to me.

[QUOTE=HeHateY](I guess those Europeans don't know their geography, huh? :D )

But asking for hotel receipts? QUOTE]

Yes, I know it was meant to be a joke, but Europeans generally have a better idea of what is where in North America than Americans do in Europe ;) .

And the hotel receipts, three stays in the US last week and each invited me to do an instant checkout with the bill to follow only if I requested it. Good job that the request for receipts is not more widespread! (Of course, I insisted on real checkouts with bills - I don't want to argue the toss abou discrepancies when I'm 5,000+ miles away ;) .)

Someone in New York with the exact same name as me (and born seven days apart) had "issues" with U.S. Customs. For a while, I was questioned further; Customs eventually told me why. First time, I just thought agent was being friendly so I asked did him did he go to school with 'same name' - he thought I was being a wise-guy. :(

One more story about AMS security. I was bringing back some lighters for friends back home as cheap little gifts, there were 8 as I recall. I had put them all in my carry on. So after the personal interrogation, your carry ons are x-rayed again before entering the gate area. The gate area is completely inspected also before people are allowed to enter. Anyway, the guy working with the crew on the x-ray machine says to me, "you have 8 lighters in this pack back". I said, "yup". He said, "that is too many" and I said they were gifts. Of course, unable to decide on his own (Dutch trait, call in the supervisor at any sign of non-conformance) They talked for a moment and the supervisor said, "put 4 in the back pack and 4 in the duty free bag" I was impressed that they were able to determine exactly how many lighters I had.

So after this, I sat down in the gate area, and one wall is all glass and you are sitting there right in front the the plane (US 767-2, at the time) and I started to watch the amazingly tight security around the plane. There were two guys, one at the nose and one at the tail, that just watched and questioned everyone that came to service the aircraft. No One, got near that plane without being questioned and ID'ed by these guys. Also there was some paramilitary looking guy on the jet way as we entered the plane with a dog (beagle)

There were also military in the airport with dogs and automatic weapons. Security seemed tighter than I'd seen in a while, this was September '04

Again there is trouble in the Netherlands, some Muslims/anarchists have announced a jihad becuase of all the deportations and anti-muslim sentiment currently being expressed in the country.

Back in January 2002 my friend and I had made it through all of the security checks (3 in all I believe) and were approaching the gate. Alas, one more checkpoint! The man looked at our tickets and asked my friend how much Arabic he spoke. He looked puzzled and said, "Um, none...why?". The man said, "Oh come now, with a last name like 'Medina'??" :confused: My friend explained to the man he was of Mexican descent (Mexican parents), the name was latin and he had absolutely no Arabic in his blood line. The man abruptly let us go, but for a minute I thought we were going to be detained! Later on we thought it was pretty funny, but you just have to work with them if you want to fly at all.

Ciao!

Anti-muslim sentiment = (amongst other things) bombing mosques and muslim cultural centers for kids, burning down schools that have high proportions of "brown people", and attacking stores that have Arabic writing on the storefront or service "immigrant" communities.

Anyone here have experience flying from Amsterdam and also from Colombia (say Bogota, Cali, Medellin, etc.) on the same trip(s)? Customs must love that one, right? :D

I've done CUR-AMS and yes, you get major security on both departure and arrival (actually at the arrival gate).

This is a bit off topic, yet still relavent. I live in North Carolina and have experienced quite a bit of prejudice. A few close friends are Dutch and they are extremely racist even in my book. Granted we don't have the influx of muslims in my community as I see in Amsterdam, but we certinally have a large latino community and the city I live in is over 50% African American (I'm obviously white) but I find the intolerence of "brown people" in the NL amazingly out there < ie. burning community centers etc.

Certinally the dynamics of the situations are different, but the image of a liberal, tolerant Dutch culture is a facade when it comes to "brown people" :(

FYI
From Schiphol.nl, airlines & bagage to the USA:
"* Up to 2 lighters or 4 books of safety matches are allowed in your carry-on baggage - NOT checked baggage. Disposable lighters and absorbed liquid lighters are allowed in your carry-on baggage. Lighters with unabsorbed liquid fuel are NOT permitted. Strike anywhere matches are NOT permitted."
I've brought back at least a dozen myself in checked baggage and never noticed.
http://www.schiphol.nl/_airlines_bag...=1100545320946

The extra security screening at AMS is, in my experience, fairly unique to direct flights to the United States, as opposed to flights to other European cities like London (even when those cities are merely a connecting point for continuing travel to America).

I find it somewhat reassuring, rather than troubling. Unlike the shoe removal policy here in the U.S. which is really an exercise in futility, I like to think that the security inquiries and efforts at AMS serve a purpose in allowing the officials to better screen departing passengers in a logical and productive manner. In any event, as other posters have previously noted, you will only experience a de minimis level of inconvenience if you are polite and cooperative.

"Pseudo-liberal" is a term that is too rarely used.

On a related note, the Flemish/Dutch-speakers in Belgian security forces (including immigration/customs) comprise a majority of those Belgian "officials" who have been or are being investigated for affiliation with far right-wing parties/groups in the past two decades. [The majority political party of the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium just got shut down and had to reconstitute itself for promoting communal hate.]

Even in "liberal" Sweden, let's just say it's more than a rare judge who holds racist/xenophobic views... views that impact determinations of guilt and sentencing. If you are a Russian-/Slavic-/Muslim-/African-immigrant to Sweden and get pulled over by the Swedish police for speeding, the consequence are more serious than if you are an ethnic Swede.

Racist singling out of people seems to correlate with the depth of hate group members and their "sympathizers" penetrating the security forces .... at least in Europe.

I'd be curious if AMS flight delays correspond or don't correspond to the number of people "selected" for more thorough grilling.