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May 22nd, 2006. Posted 22:12
Ever since 9/11 airport security obviously became a big issue. At Amsterdam Airport Schiphol they are trying to deal with this as well, but in my point of view it’s still a far from flawless operation. Of course there are the normal checks, but for some reason they fail to see the point of preventing random people (or people who have no reason to be there) to enter the “secure” Departure halls. Because even without a boarding card you can get to any gate you like, or since recently, even go tax-free shopping without boarding any plane!
Yes, sounds amazing, but it’s pure reality at Schiphol airport. First there was the possibility to enter the Departure halls with a Privium card. The Privium system allows you to pass the Dutch border without showing a passport, but by just using border passage with the irisscan (you identify yourself using iris recognition). Sounds safe, but in the FAQ it states:
22. Is there a check to see if I have a ticket?
The Koninklijke Marechaussee Schiphol (Airport Police) and the Security Personal can check this at random. In the rules it states that the member (of the Privium service, red.) must have a travel destination to enter the protected area. On violation of this rule Schiphol can address this violation. Schiphol has the right to end the membership.
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In real life this means: there is no check. After a while I started to notice they never checked my boarding card when passing the border. As I found this strange I urged, at one point, one of the security people to check my boarding card. Nevertheless, I could have no business being there. To my great surprise, they refused. After a long discussion I became clear they were not allowed to check boarding cards by order of their bosses… Very strange. As I figured, if I can figure out I can get into the secure area like this so easily, people who have bad intentions will have figured this out a long time ago. Alarming.
But since last Friday it has become even more alarming. When checking-in to my flight to Copenhagen using the self-service check-in machine of KLM I was surprise the machine didn’t take my frequent flyer card straight away… strange… normally it would always take it straight away and start processing. Now I had to touch the screen first. So my card was in the machine already, I touch the screen, follow the procedures on the screen, print my boarding-card and remove my card… But when I remove my card, I notice the screen goes back a few steps and asked to reconfirm again to print my boarding card… Confused I press the button to continue again and to my surprise it prints another boarding card! Now I have two!!
Puzzled I walked to the desk to drop of my luggage, but when I got to the security check, it hit me. This is bad! Because at Departure hall 1 there is no passport check…
Passport and/or ticket control
…
If you are leaving from Departure hall 1 because you are travelling to one of the Schengen countries, the only thing that will be checked is your ticket. There is no Koninklijke Marechaussee here to check your passport.
…
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So this means, I can print out 2 boarding passes, keep one myself and give the other to someone who can go do the tax-free shopping for me and take it home straight away! And that might probably be the least evil way to abuse the system… I stop myself from thinking about the real evil ways! :-|
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on Monday, May 22nd, 2006 at 22:12 and is filed under Personal, Travel.
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