12/25 - flying into Amsterdam from the US

Interesting experience! Was everything at the airport at Amsterdam open as usual? I've been curious about this as will be transiting through there in about a week.

Re the airport, no not everything was open - many shops closed. Seemed to me that places selling food were open but that was about it. The airport in Copenhagen was an entirely different story: looked to be 100% open for business!

We've flown into AMS 25+ times since COVID started almost two years ago. Upon arrival, I've NEVER been checked at AMS - be it covid vaccine status, negative COVID test results, personal temperature, or even the required NL declaration form. (And that includes arriving from Non-Schengen countries). The responsibility of most of these requests falls on the airlines at check-in, but AMS does seem pretty lax. Interesting experience as I've flown AMS-CPH-AMS a couple of times and had to show our QR code at our CPH arrivals & departures.

The way it is set up, no one in Amsterdam would ask for your test results, unless they are doing some type of spot check or are digging deeper into your entry eligibility.

It is supposed to be the responsibility of the Airline, if you were on a single ticket from Newark to Amsterdam, via Copenhagen, then SAS should have checked or had you submit results ahead of time. If on two separate tickets, then you likely fell into a crack. Denmark does not require a test for entry, and the Netherlands does not require a test for vaccinated individuals arriving from Denmark.

Basically the fault is with the airline, not the Netherlands

I certainly wasn’t placing blame on any one party. But, as long as you’re mentioning it, I will chime in and say that expecting a company - in this case an airline - to act in the best interests of a country, when doing so will hurt the companies bottom line, is ridiculous. Just saying…

As discussed, the airlines are required to check your COVID documentation at check-in - based on the requirements as to where you're headed. As your ultimate destination was Amsterdam, it did fall on SAS in Newark. Yet, in our travels, many countries also require follow-up once you land. But not at AMS, where we've often simply walked to our parked car or rode the train home.

For example, at Milan Linate (LIN), we were greeted by Airport officials holding thermometers, and everyone's temperature was taken. In Porto and Copenhagen, we had to show our passports and proof of vaccination (Our QR Code) before we could enter the terminal area. Similarly, in Spain, before we could enter Seville's terminal, we had to present our completed SpTH form. And in the Netherlands, a completed NL Declaration Form must be presented by all incoming passengers. And of course, there are different rules when transiting - like we did in London last week.

Countries sometimes do require "extra steps" for entering passengers. This can extend to trains also, as in Paris when arriving on Thalys at Gare Du Nord from Brussels, we had to show our passports and QR Code (vaccine status) to police officers based on the platform. Although I have dutifully completed my NL Declaration Form each time I've flown, now I don't even pull it out when I land at AMS... as I've never had to show it. So it does seem that post-arrival can be rather random and impacted by current local events. As COVID numbers change, so - it seems - do the "entry " requirements at some locations. Unfortunately, for those of us that live in the NL, AMS has never been diligent.

And yes, the airlines aren't thrilled about being the "enforcers" of all the COVID rules during pre-boarding. Like your SAS experience, I've flown many airlines from AMS that have online check-in and unmanned "drop-bag" check-in options... and no one has verified my documents. At the same time, we've also used VeriFly (on BA and AA), Ready-to-Fly on KLM, and FlyReady on Delta, and a few other EU-airlines pre-registration programs to enter our covid documentation. Perhaps that will be the future for all air travel?

expecting a company - in this case an airline - to act in the best interests of a country, when doing so will hurt the companies bottom line, is ridiculous. Just saying…

Yes, it seems a strange system, but it does make sense, so much so that it is codified under International Carriage Rules. Any company that carries passengers or freight has to comply with all types of rules, laws, and regulations; many specific to the destination country. They are required to understand and comply with these at their peril.

This is exactly the reason airlines take the time to check your passport and for Visas, if that applies. In fact if they fail to do so, and you are rejected at your destination country for an expired passport or other basic violation, the airline can be fined and required to send you back at their expense. The covid requirements have just piggybacked on this requirement. I do feel for the airlines though with Covid, the rules are in constant flux and vary greatly based on where you are coming from, and where you are going...lots of variables. SAS may have just taken the position that you needed to meet Danish entry requirements, what you did after landing is on you.

This is exactly the reason airlines take the time to check your passport and for Visas, if that applies. In fact if they fail to do so, and you are rejected at your destination country for an expired passport or other basic violation, the airline can be fined and required to send you back at their expense.

Yes, definitely. But the major difference here is that there are checks and balances with this situation in that there is a 100% chance that the destination country will check their passport (and, if needed, visa). That's the reason the airlines comply - they don't want to bear the expense if there's an issue. But with COVID checks - when there's nobody checking at the point of entry - there's very little incentive for the airline to deny boarding (and have to eat the cost of the seat).

Anyway, this is the world we find ourselves so c'est la vie. Hopefully we'll be back to something close-ish to normal-ish in the coming year. Hopefully...