Immigration and security queues at AMS makes trips into the city a non starter unless you have a lot of time !

So to get from HUY to SOU will take well over 24 hours, plus the cost of a hotel room in Ansterdam. Not exactly cheap or convenient.

Which is why BL didn't use that service!
(Maybe she's forgotten!)

TV series "Border Force New Zealand".....the mind boggles at the antics of some aircraft pax...

A woman flew to Auckland from an airport somewhere in the US for a holiday......with her cat

When challenged by airport authorities about her cat (called Petra) she stated that she assumed that flying internationally was the same as a domestic US flight and that her beloved Petra would be fine to travel with her in a pet carrier within the cabin of the aircraft. She admitted to making zero enquiries about the legality of taking Petra on holiday with her to another country, she just thought it would be fine. The woman was in her early 50's maybe, apparently well travelled and had always gone everywhere with Petra.

Needless to say the New Zealand authorities at Auckland airport were none too pleased......they were pretty baffled too as to why the woman assumed an international flight would be the same as a domestic one. New Zealand immigration refused her entry into the country and sent her home on the first available flight. Petra did not survive the trip, she was euthanised as the US authorities refused to allow her back into the country.

What baffles me more is how the heck did she manage to board the aircraft in the US carrying a cat.....checking in she would have had to deal with all of her baggae. How did she manage to do it?

Perhaps she really meant to fly to Oakland...

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-...265-story.html

The Border Force series (which also includes Australia, US and UK as far as I know) makes for good entertainment if you're bored. This is probably one of the stranger cases since the most common ones seem to be drug mules, cigarette smugglers or just people bringing in food or weird items that are biosecurity risks. And the occasional convicted criminal or romance scam victim.

I'm curious why the US refused to allow Petra back into the country. Did they deem her to be a biosecurity risk after going on a plane?

KLM's service from UK regional airports to AMS grew from links with UK carrier Air Anglia in the mid/late seventies. Anglia flew from various airports in the eastern UK starting with Norwich. They took over Leeds to Amsterdam from BA c1975 immediately increasing frequency from 3*weekly to double daily at times much more suited to connections over AMS.

Air Anglia merged with other carriers to become Air UK which was eventually bought out by KLM to become KLM UK

OK so perhaps the check in agent did not notice the cat carrier with distinct "meow" coming from within, but what about the gate staff....or the CC's when boarding and cat carrier was placed in overhead bin (it was too big for underseat)...?

Poor cat paid the ultimate price, she got euthanised.....dozy owner had owned Petra for 7 years and she had gone everywhere with the owner so goodness knows how many other flights it went on in that time.

probably thought she had permission - there have been some serious issues with US pax and their pets, guide dogs, emotional support rhinos and the like.

goes all over social media and the staff are often abused and hung out to dry

Easier to turn a blind eye knowing that Oz/NZ/Chile will be all over them on arrival

Being used to the everything-goes pre-Brexit phytosecurity regime, I found the tv series about entering Australia as I intend to do in the spring quite instructive, i.e., if you don't finish your lunch on the plane you can't take it with you to finish later and you can't save the chocolates to give to your kids (they like chocolate, I don't). Nothing made of wood, either. I guess in Europe because we are so interconnected that we just accept that diseases like Xylella fastidiosa are going to spread across the continent and destroy olive crops, in Aus they are determined not to let it in.

Having just returned to Australia after an extended stay in the Uk (25 years), there are a lot of hoops to jump through re biosecurity.
If you're going in as a tourist, it's easy. To play it safe, don't take any food across the border. There are a lot of bins around so it's easy to dispose that apple etc. Commercially sealed products "may" be ok, to be safe, just declare it and let them decide. It's really easy and quick.
Dirt from farms/fields on your shoes will attract attention as well, I just declared it. Easy. They treat the shoes on the spot.
You can bring in chocolate, it just must be a commercial product, for personal use and still sealed and less than 10kg. :) However, if it's from the flight, you can't bring it in. :)

This ABF is a good reference for any traveller.

I flew in from Fiji. "Any animal or organic products to declare"? "None" said I.
30 seconds later I was relieved of my rather nice straw hat!!

Are the various rumours correct that WestJet and Air Transat have dropped almost every route to/from the US indefinitely due to the trade impasse and Canadian boycott of all things US?

P&O Cruises have announced their airline partners for their Caribbean cruises from October 2026 thru March 2027

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruis...ibbean-season/

BonnieLass
I am pretty sure that I have seen that reported elsewhere. USA companies that rely on international tourists are not enthusiastic about their lot.

Canadian airlines are dropping US routes left, right and center, so if the US airlines are experiencing issues it is hardly surprising, Florida is being hit hard by the lack of Canadian snowbirds which makes up the numbers and income in the leaner months of the year. The football later this year is going to be impacted heavily with the various travel bans and high cost of tickets for the US based games, however, those games taking place in Mexico and Canada seem to be very popular. The US adminitration seems to have shot itself in both feet over what should be one of the greatest sporting festival events in the calendar.

Guardian today

I know it is the wrong place, I cannot access the right one....

Having seen the images from the tragedy at LGA, I wanted to pass on my very sincere condolences to the families of both flightcrew and hopes that all those who were hurt by what happened recover fully from their injuries and that all involved receive the care and support that they need.

I hope that the controller involved is getting enough help and support too as he will be devastated by what happened on his watch.

I also hope that this tragedy will not be made political and that would be wrong. Incursions happen every day, mostly and thankfully without harm being done. The main thing to be doing is to not allow it to happen again, that is not a political situation or decision, it is a basic safety matter.

RIP to the two pilots, strength to their families at this tragic and difficult time in their lives.