Hi! I haven't traveled internationally in 10 years, so apologies if this is novice question!
I am traveling from Seattle to Prague, with a 3 hour layover in Amsterdam.
Do I need to go through customs again in Amsterdam? I will have a carry-on bag with me, so do I need to go through any security again, too? Or do I just go to the gate to my connecting flight?
Thanks for any input you can provide! :)
You will have to line up inside the airport and go through Schengen Immigration and get your passport stamped for entry into the Schengen Treaty Zone. This will be on your way to the gate for flights to Schengen Zone countries. There is no security check, since Seattle TSA meets European specs. You clear customs in Prague, which is normally just walking out the door marked "Nothing to Declare".
In Amsterdam you go through passport control to enter the Schengen area. You make your way to your connecting flight.
Whether or not you go through security really depends on what controls they are enforcing in Amsterdam. It's not something you need to think about - if you have to do you do it. Just follow the signs to your gate.
In Prague you pass through customs where you can declare any banned substances you may be carrying.
Keep in mind, customs should be a walk-through in Prague if you have nothing to declare.
Possibly some clarification: "Customs" is simply a matter walking through a door market Nothing to Declare. You will not have to do that because you are not entering the Netherlands. I have no idea what you mean by customs "again" unless you are making the common confusion of mistaking immigration and border security for "customs". You will go through security procedures including border control in Amsterdam and possibly a second set by your airline at the departure gate. Many airports now have central clearance for carry-ons which may require some time in a line, but I haven't navigated Amsterdam for a while so I don't know the situation. Three hours should be enough for comfort. But get to your departure date before you are distracted by the airport's attractive shops.
For what it is worth, of all the airports I have entered the Schengen countries through, Amsterdam is about the quickest and easiest for immigration. Three hours is plenty.
Thanks, Sam! This was exactly what I needed. Just wanted to know if I needed to put the bags through security again, as well. :)
Thanks, Sam! This was exactly what I needed. Just wanted to know if I needed to put the bags through security again, as well. :)
Check your bags in Seattle and collect them in Prague. Went through Schipol on the way to Venice in January, and that is how it works.
For what it is worth, of all the airports I have entered the Schengen countries through, Amsterdam is about the quickest and easiest for immigration.
I went through Amsterdam this Spring (from the US to France), and I agree. And we didn't have to go through security in Amsterdam.
