The pleasure of Schiphol

I lost my German passport in Los Angeles at LAX just a couple of years ago.

Only 10 minutes after the incident (by thean I already knew that I must have lost it just now) I could hear my name being announced over the airport speaker system. I was asked to find my way to the Lost&Found.

All amazingly the announcment was in German by a native speaker. How cool is that. 5 minutes later I had it back and was ready to board for Europe.

Thank you LAX for pulling that of.

Still, I hope to never forget about my carry on luggage at any aiport. I heard they treat unattended bags differently. ;-)

Ten years ago, I had my passport stolen at Lagos Airport after clearing security but before boarding my flight. I was travelling Air France, who bring their own security team to African airports, so decided it was worth trying to get on the flight without my British passport. I spoke to them in my limited French, which together with my having a business class ticket, persuaded them to let me on the flight to Paris. They told me I might have problems in Paris, but I preferred running that risk than dealing with Nigerian authorities. I had a sleepless flight back to Europe, but transferred in Paris with no problem. When I got to immigration at Heathrow, I explained the situation to the immigration officer. Despite my American accent, she let me in, just advising me to report the loss of my passport to the Passport Agency. The only document I had showing I was British was a card that Australian Immigration issued but never used, that showed my nationality as UK. I'm sure I wouldn't be able to do this now.

That is why I always go through Amsterdam when entering Europe from the US.

I wonder if the experience would've been as great if you were from southern or eastern asia, or even africa or Turkey? Just curious.
For the record, we lost ours along with our money at the KL airport in Malaysia, and the airport staff were completely indifferent and incompetent. The embassy staff were super-helpful though.

While not having managed to lose either a passport or a boarding pass, I have managed to test Schiphol in every other way over the years and have never found it wanting, it is just as good as it gets for an airport of this size and complexity. In truth the Dutch do not make the jolliest of people but that is more than made up for by the seriousness and diligence with which they perform their duties. God bless 'em.

It wasn't so recent, but I was on a late flight into Schiphol with a tight connection. My airline didn't seem to care, but at the gate at Schipol someone came onto the plane calling my name, put me onto a cart, went to an express lane to clear immigration and put me onto my waiting flight. And of course everyone was very friendly. That was by far the best service I ever received in an airport.

Yes, I once packed my passport in my checked baggage, flying from NZ to Australia. The Kiwis were kind enough to take my (photo-free, paper) driver's license as ID, and Australian passport control were happy enough that I could tell them my passport number. That was about 25 years ago and I would not like to try repeating it now.

I had been on a train going from Amsterdam to Brussels via Rotterdam in the middle of the night. The train had reversed course due to rail work near Rotterdam. I got off the train at Schiphol at 430 in the morning. I had originally had a three hour gap between my scheduled arrival in Brussels and my flight to Madrid. I lost two hours of it. I was in a panic. The nice woman at the train station at Schiphol helped me tremendously. She helped me find a way (via 3 connections) to make my flight with 30 minutes to spare. Absolutely amazing. If I saw her right now, I'd give her a kiss 10 years after the fact.

Turning up at the BA desk at Munich early year, sans passport, I was escorted into a back room, from where the BA rep called Heathrow immigration, and then handed the phone to me. After a very brief conversation, I was allowed to fly home: All they wanted to do was establish that I sounded English and had my driving license on me. Later that week (this time with recovered passport) I retold the story to BA staff at Hamburg; 'oh yes, that's quite normal,' they replied... 'It's because you are a Londoner'. Moral of the story, the right accent and a driving license can get you a long way.

once my passport went missing in Dubai when I was catching a KLM flight to Abu Dhabi, then AMS, then Paris. On the DXB-AUH flight, they found the passport in Dubai, and in the great goodness of the divinity of Gulf-Europe travel, KLM had a second flight that night from Dubai to AMS. So all I needed to do was wait in the AMS lounge until my "lost" passport arrived on the second flight. Saved. What a break. And kudos to KLM for having pulled this off.

Schiphol has to be one of my favourite airports. The people are generally friendly and helpful, and the airport has a wonderful layout. I often stay at the hotel there just because the airport has everything I need: restaurants, convenience stores, gift stores, train station, hotel, and of course, quick access to the planes.

I was recently traveling with a small dog internationally - a stressful experience- and experienced exceptional treatment at Schiphol. A "KLM Troubleshooter" as she told me she was called, took pity and escorted us outside the airport (expediting us through passport control there and back) so that the dog could have a quick walk and toilet break between flights before being zippered into his case before the next flight segment. We were then also re-seated to an easier, more forward seat on the plane and given priority boarding. It made all the difference and I was so grateful for the friendly, extraordinary assistance. (By the way, dog didn't make a peep on the plane - I credit Schiphol and KLM allowing us out for making that possible)

At the opposite extreme may I nominate Lithuanian Railways.
My wife (then on a Belarusan passport) was taken off the train and kept in a police cell for three hours, all because her Lithuanian visa was in her old passport (which she had with her).
The Lithuanians say they do not recognise visas in more than one passport.
A "tip" was required to get onto a later train.

Maybe I don't travel much, but I was surprised to see that Schiphol has x-ray machines only in front of the gates. I think that's awesome. As it means you can drink your water while lounging around the retail area (not chuck it 2 hrs before just to get into the secure zone) and then everyone is lined up for the same flight, not some for a flight that leaves in 30 mins and others that leave in 2 hrs. (In fact in Toronto, frequently you will be turned away from the x-ray line if you arrive too early!)
When I was leaving I was amazed and sad that I didn't have enough time to go through this airport. Lady playing on a piano. Lounge with some funky chairs and TVs. Multitude of fine shops, museum related, food related, genever related.

My parents had their passports stolen in Italy a few years ago, and were able to return to the UK by brandishing a police report. They had the impression that it was not so unusual to do that.

Not a similar Schipol story, but a similar Heathrow story. My british wife lost her passport the day before flying to California for Christmas, but she had her green card. Thanks to a resourceful Virgin agent and a similar USCIS agent on hand at LHR, she was allowed to travel with no passport.

Well, I was detained for a couple of hours in St. Thomas on the way back to New York, because I was carrying the wrong passport. It had been reported lost or stolen and I thought I had the replacement with me but in fact had accidentally found the old one and brought it with me to the Virgin Islands. The agents were nice and had to take some time to look up what to do. They punched three holes in it, voiding it.

In Amsterdam I was impressed with the taxicab co, which, as I got inside the car to go to the airport, had a bandage exactly the same size as this 10" gash I suddenly discovered on my leg- from shaving too fast.

Pre-Schengen (not that it would have mattered) I forgot my (Danish) passport and all credit cards at home when leaving the UK by Eurostar. After ringing the bell for a customs officer, the friendly man told me not to worry. All I remember is my surprise - and arriving in Paris without a franc or any plastic (I also got back to Britain again). As for Schiphol, I never repeated the experiment.

I have to congratulate Schiphol for actually being a fun place to spend your time in. And yes, since I was a child and have been changing planes there they've always been very helpful indeed, on the lines described above!