I'm surprised at the hard-heartedness of some of the posts. The woman popped an apple into her bag to eat later. I've done that so many times though I of course had been made aware of international protocols - developed over a working lifetime. This woman was just an ordinary
paying passenger, and all that means in law.
Apple taken in trust from a literally qualified staff member who handed it to a client.
Between the
routine interactions of the airline with the authorities, I'd say between them, the woman suffered entrapment.
Where was the apple loaded onto the aircraft? i.e., was it grown in the United States and held in a hopefully hygienic container until presented? (That isolation would work both ways.)
Confiscation is one thing, but a $500 fine of an ordinary member of the public is deterrent sentencing. A legal obscenity at the best of times.
Ordinary folk are trusting, forgetful, stressed when flying, they need considderation and basic kindness, not the bullying of some
that can't get a skilled job and gets his kicks by making statements like the one in the report.