Clinton Rogers: Biometric checks are chaos for holidaymakers

But my poor wife wasn't so lucky.

We had been warned, and we had read, about the 'chaos' which the new entry/exit rules were causing in some countries.

Hundreds of holidaymakers have even missed flights home, trapped at airports in horrendous queues as the new system goes into meltdown.

So, on our short trip to Amsterdam we were resigned to the fact that the experience would neither be pleasant nor efficient.

And so it turned out!

For those who don't know, because we are no longer in the European Union (and don't get me started on that!) UK visitors to EU or Schengen countries must now provide fingerprints and a photo at border control.

The idea is that it replaces the need for grumpy, non-verbal, border officials to stamp your passport.

In theory it should cut waiting times.

In theory.

For us, Amsterdam proved otherwise.

It all started well enough – a relatively short queue for the bank of biometric machines.

Both my wife and I walked forward, had our photos taken and placed our right hands on a pad which would register and retain our fingerprints.

The process for me was short and seemingly straightforward, although it did make me feel like a criminal who'd just been arrested.

Move on to 'queue one' where my passport would be automatically scanned, and I'd be free to enter Amsterdam.

All done in ten minutes.

But for Mrs Rogers, all was not well.

More than 20 years ago, she badly damaged her right index finger, and it needed many stitches.

The new machine was, therefore, struggling to read her index fingerprint.

The result: move to 'queue two' to await a human passport check.

The trouble is there were about 200 people being sent to the same queue.

Surely not all of them could have damaged fingers?

It took the best part of two hours to get through that check - not a great start to what was just a short trip away.

We were more than a little apprehensive about what would happen on the journey home.

It's one thing to be delayed starting your holiday, but a delay coming back could risk missing your flight, as many people before us have found.

As it turned out, Amsterdam Airport had "temporarily suspended" the outward checks.

So no need to check the damaged finger.

"The system just isn't working," one security official told me.

How true.

No wonder Greece has abandoned the biometric checks altogether.

Remind me to head there next holiday.

Have you had a similar experience?

Let me know - clinton.rogers@countygazette.co.uk.