At check in at AMS, you will be told that you must arrive at the gate for personal screening, I think it was, an hour before departure time. Once that screening crew leaves to work another flight at another gate, you're SOL. Many times at the departure lounge, the folks at the front desk will come bye and say, it's time for you to go to your gate and your flight may not be scheduled to leave for another hour and a half.

With the opening of the new runway at AMS, I think you'll find operational delays to be fewer than in the past. In the past if you're plane lost it's departure slot, you could easily count on a 45 minute delay on at a remote holding area. Don't forget the wacked out weather also which causes terrible delays sometimes.

Agree w/ the above. I go to AMS each year for a trade show. Actually, I thought it interesting that when I flew over 3 days after 9/11 the US folk barely looked at my passport etc, yet at AMS they were more thorough - why had I been in Morocco & Turkey (holidays) before letting me pass through. I felt better about AMS security at that point than I did ours (and still do to an extent for that matter).

Since I'm over there for legit bizness, am not a terrorist, and am not bringing back contraband or bombs, I answer politely & get through pretty easily.

Cheers. Sharon

They must think MR means "marijuana run" :p

true, but getting to the new polderbaan runway will take just about as long... :)

Isn't that the truth :cool:

The additional security at AMS is *only* for flights on US airlines to the USA and for flights to Israel. I fly out of AMS at least 3 times/month, and as I have never been to Israel and my last flight to the USA on a US airline was back in 1996, I have *never* experienced the security interview yet. The additional security is done at the request of the US airlines by private (non-government) security staff who are instructed by the US airlines, so don't blame the Dutch for the way this additional security is done.

Also, I have never been stopped anywhere in the world for a drug search because I was arriving from AMS. If US customs agents stop people for a full search just because they are arriving from AMS, they are plain stupid as they forget how easy it is to take the train from AMS to BRU, CDG or FRA and fly from there.

You are guilty of the same stereotypes as the racists are. (and yes, of course there are racists in the Netherlands)

The vast majority of the Dutch people have absolutely no problems with most immigrants: the Chinese, the Indonesians and other Asians, the Surinamese, Antilleans, Ghanese and other blacks, the Turks, the Latinos, even the North Americans! :)

It is a relatively large group of youth of Moroccan origin that are causing trouble. These people have decided they don't want to live according to the rules of the Dutch democracy.

The problem in the past has been that Dutch society has been too tolerant with these youth: they have been allowed to basically do as they please without anyone stopping them. This summer there was a well-reported case in Amsterdam where a family was harassed by a group of Moroccan youth for no particular reason, and the police told this family that they could do nothing and they advised the family to move house!
The Dutch people have -after the slaying of Van Gogh- decided that they will no longer tolerate this kind of behaviour.

Of course it is wrong to burn random mosques and Islamic schools, but there are some mosques and Islamic schools in the Netherlands where messages of hatred and violence are spread. This will also have to stop.

My boyfriend is from Colombia (we live in AMS) and we have done lots of Colombia - Amsterdam flights (via LHR, MAD and FRA). Only once, at FRA did we have a customs check (by a plain clothes customs officer just after we left the gate arriving from BOG) He asked to see our passports, what we had been doing in Colombia (visiting relatives and touring around) and seemed happy with our answers and send us on our way.

Very true.

How dare we use facts to make the U.S. Department of Fatherland Security look appropriately incompetent. :D

Nobody is blaming the Dutch for anything here, don't feel guilty. What is being conveyed here is simply the additional security applied to US bound flights on US airlines at AMS is surprising to some.
In addition to that, with soft drugs available in the Netherlands, it makes sense for inspections for that when people arrive from your country to any other country where possession of soft drugs are illegal.
Thirdly, the global impression of the Netherlands is one of a tolerant, compassionate society which makes the current domestic issues with the, as I now know, Morrocans somewhat surprising. After the public assasination of Van Gogh the cry for law and order is understandable.
And as for bring prejudice, hardly. We walk in the same shoes

As an aside to the discussions - there is a priority line for the secondary security scan although sometimes it may not look as if it is in use. If you just walk up to the head of the line they will check your BP and deal with you next.

Also, there really is not much point turning up at the gate more than 30 mins before departure time. After gate security you just end up in a nasty overcrowded holding area.


-- Dambus

Soft drugs are available in all 63 countries that I have visited. And in most of them, with very little difficulty.