We're back! I have a lot of information to share, including some info about using the new EES system (Entry Exit System) in the EU. I'll talk about that first for the people who will encounter that process soon.
When we arrived in Amsterdam we were directed to kiosks to register for the EES system which involved scanning your passport (upside down and backwards), a photo without glasses, and a scan of the 4 fingers on your right hand. Mike of course was done in a jiffy but the scanner had a hard time with my fingerprints. It finally said I had successfully completed the process and we moved on to the passport control area. There was a separate line for those who completed the registration process at the kiosk and, once again, Mike sailed right through (after answering four short questions on the scanner). The scanner unfortunately could not read my fingerprints again, even after multiple attempts, so I was sent off to the passport check line to see an immigration officer. This added about 45 minutes and even gave Mike enough time to walk down to the baggage claim and get our bags and then return to wait for me.
I was talking to three other women in line and we decide that the scanner had a hard time reading our fingerprints because two of us worked in healthcare and spent years washing our hands multiple times a day and all of us had wished millions of dishes in our lifetime. I don't know if that was the real cause or not, but it gave us something to do while waiting in the line. When I finally reached the immigration officer he re-scanned my passport, took another photo and re-scanned my fingerprints. I had put on some hand lotion before reaching him so my hands were better hydrated, so try that if you have trouble with the system reading your fingerprints. I was finally given the permission to go through and Mike and I headed to the rental car desk. The rental car was another time-consuming issue, but more about that in another post.
When we left The Netherlands to fly home, I was dreading going through the EES system again and we had heard the horror stories of lines that were hours long at various airports. We arrived at the airport at 6:50 am for a 10:50 flight. Since we were flying first class, we were able to use the Delta Sky Priority lines to check-in and drop our bags which went quite quickly. The next stop was the security checkpoint. Schiphol Airport has an app where you can make an appointment for a 15 minute time slot to use a shorter security line. We learned about that from talking to the Sheraton hotel staff at the airport. I had booked a 7:30 time slot but it was 7:10 at that point. The airport wasn't busy so the officer let us go ahead even though we were early. This put us in a line for the X-ray scanner that was shorter than the other lines, although the other lines were not super busy that early. Once through the X-ray scanner process, we moved on to the passport control area and luckily the scanner only required our passports and it took another photo- no fingerprints needed - hooray! So we were through the entire process in about an hour. I will say that the airport was significantly busier by 9am and the priority lines and time slot appt were definitely helpful.
Our first stop upon returning to the USA was at Salt Lake City. We both have Global Entry for customs but I recently found out that Global Entry has an app where you can answer the customs questions ahead of time and snap a photo of yourself. When you land, you submit that information and the app gives you a receipt for a one hour time slot to go through customs in the Global Entry line but you do not stop at the kiosk first, you proceed directly to the customs officer with your receipt. You can include everyone traveling with you so you can go up together instead of separately. I feel that's very helpful because there aren't always enough kiosks and you can still get stuck in line waiting for one. We also had nothing to declare so that makes it easier as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment