I was stopped by officer with sniffer dog a few weeks ago in Miami. Turns out one of the apples from the crew food tray had rolled from the tray on the jumpseat into my flight bag. I had no idea it was there. I apologised to the officer and he let me go on my merry way without a fine. I have a feeling the person in this story who got fined $500 was less than apologetic and made a fuss. But maybe not. The max fine is $5000 so it could have been worse...

I was recent witness to one of my crew being a bit offhand with a CBP guy and being sent to the back of the queue. On reaching the front again, he asked if she had any fruit, etc. and the answer was no. On checking her bag found several fruit-like items - as above $500 fine.

At that point I lost much of my sympathy. 10 years of going to the USA and you should know what they don’t like *and they gave you a chance*.

Boy oh boy, we are a harsh bunch around here! "A rule is a rule". "She shoulda known". "Give 'em an inch and they'll take a pound".

What ever happened to common sense? It was a frickin apple for god's sake!

Here's an idea: Tell her she can't bring the apple in, take it away from her, then move on to more important issues of security and immigration & customs enforcement.

No, we don't need lawyers and lawsuits over this. Nor do we need flak-jacketed hardasses making a big deal out of an apple. We have lost all sense of proportion in our society.

I didn't see it mentioned in any of the articles but is it possible that she had been warned previously and that's the reason for the stiff fine this time????

My wife and daughter were returning to California from a horse show in New Mexico. The agent at the inspection point was training a new hire, so they needed to inspect every bit of paperwork. There were some apples, and my daughter fed them to the horses. New agent went berserk, but old agent said it was OK.

I suspect this was indeed a factor. As others have noted, there are prominent signs as you go through customs and immigration stating no fresh fruit (and a bunch of other things), but honest mistakes are seldom punished unless you mouth off.
Years ago I worked with a fellow who married a British woman that he'd met on a trip to Rolls - and couldn't get her a visa to join him in the US. The guy was very abrasive and confrontational (very difficult to work with, I was actually afraid of him a few times) - given I was able to get my foreign born wife a visa in a few days, I'm sure he pissed off to the wrong person and they decided to make his life difficult. He did eventually get his wife a visa, but it took over a year...

Some decades ago, I had some BC peaches with me visiting Spokane. US Customs was fine as long as you had no cannabis;)

Returning to Canada with very few peaches, I was asked if I had any fruit, declared the remaining peaches which were prohibited entry even if from BC and directed to area with picnic tables to eat same and to use provided bins for the rest.

My current preoccupation crossing the border both ways is not forgetting to declare the bear spray. I was lectured not to have it in my hand, so best on the dash below the windshield.

Some relatives got caught out by INTERNAL controls in Oz. Having just arrived in the country, on the way from the airport to their holiday cottage they stopped off at a supermarket to buy some food - which was confiscated from them at a roadblock a few miles down the road.

Yes they often have internal controls in Oz if they're dealing with something they're trying to contain within a locality.

If people here can get all thin-lipped about a single apple (do any of you work for airport security, by any chance?) - I'm surprised you're not incandescent about the huge leaking bags of alien microbes that get let through customs by the million every day. They're called humans.

Do you know how much of YOU is actually not you at all, but bacteria, viruses, fungus and other alien lifeforms? (Answer: less than half.) You may put your apple virtuously in the cc's garbage bag, but as soon as you visit the airport toilet for a crap, you're releasing a bunch of stuff (including seeds - this is why tomato plants luxuriate around sewage outlets) into the local ecosystem that originated somewhere not local at all.

Ban people from travelling by air. Go on, you know you've always wanted to...

This was a link page one early post to a US customs card.


https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/fi...termark%29.pdf


This the Australian card.


https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/Enter...ipc-sample.pdf


And the Canadian.


https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publicat.../e311-eng.html


But it seems in UK and Russia leather does not need to be declared.

It cuts two ways ...

If you are rude or aggressive towards any Customs / Border Force when they ask you questions, or you are defensive about those questions then they are likely to throw the book at you. And rightly so.

By equal measure, if they give you 'a second chance' e.g. "please go and dispose of that fruit of yours on those picnic benches over there" then smile and say "thank you". Whether you eat all that fruit is up to you.

On the other hand, if they are just being a$$holes for the sake of it then there are things you can do .. like someone I knew who got pulled for accidentally having a very few ml too much perfume / after shave on him. And they really went to town on him .. :=

So he held up the offending item and asked if that was the problem .. "Yes, now pay up" was the uncompromising reply. Oops, he then 'accidentally' :E dropped it. It did apparantly make customs smell much nicer for a while.

Not sure about U.S. or U.K. arrivals procedure, but in Oz, Canada, NZ the gentleman in the uniform does not just ask you if you have any fruit, he is standing with a signed declaration in his hand in which you said that you had no prohibited items in your luggage, including fruit.

He / she will then ask you whether you understood the form that you signed. Frequently he will have singled you out because you have been profiled; normally by a basset or lab.
And that was just after you had walked past the signs and well-marked disposal bins explaining that carriage of foodstuffs is prohibited.

So, when he pulls an apple from your bag (the "it's just an apple" apple) he will ask you once again whether you understand that carriage of fruit is prohibited.
Remember, he is now holding up at eye level, specifically for you to see, your signed declaration.
He may even explain to you the apple diseases found at your port of departure and not yet found in Oz, Canada, etc. and why carriage of fruit is a) prohibited and b) punishable by law.

At this point, he has decided in his own mind, that you are just plain stupid or being deliberately deceitful (similar to stupid).
Now is your chance to demonstrate that you are not being deceitful and thereby avoid monetary sanction. Just confirm his suspicions.
Admit to gross stupidity, it should be easy for you. Embellish with bizarre (non-threatening) behaviour or statements if you think it will help.

On those grounds, he may just issue you with a warning, written and recorded or just verbal (yes, it does happen).
He has now, already decided your fate. Everything that follows will only exacerbate your position.

You can stand your ground and argue, either politely or otherwise.
You WILL now be issued with an on-the-spot fine, payable immediately.

You can decline to pay the on-the-spot fine, in which case your case will be passed into the judicial system for decision by a judge. You will need a lawyer to have any chance of winning your case.
You could take it to the media which can headline it as "It was only an apple".
Prosecution still have your signed declaration and your apple, in a plastic bag.
Chances of success; not zero but pretty bloody close to it.

So now you have a much enhanced penalty to pay, plus lawyers fees and a criminal conviction (I think, not sure. The judge may strike down the record).

So tell me again, was standing on your dignity really worth it?
After all, "it was just an apple".

People who say "Just an apple" obviously have no connection with, or comprehension of, primary production.

NZ does not have fruitfly endemically. Every now and then, a few are found: they may have come in by an improperly treated commercial shipment, or it might have been someone who thought "It's just an apple." When these infestations are discovered, it is treated as an A-grade problem. In the 1980s, fruitfly were discovered in the (rich) eastern suburbs of Auckland. Somehow, it was decided that the cost effective way of dealing with this was aerial spraying by a converted DC 6. I have my doubts, but it was certainly a stirring sight to see something with round engines laying real chemtrails at low level. More recently, some flies were found near me. A zone was set up out of which no fruit or vegetable matter could be taken. It lasted months, though after a couple of weeks the big supermarkets were exempted. Doubtless a few cackheads ignored it, but mostly people accepted it as inconvenient but important. That's because even in NZ's biggest city, we know how important it is to keep out pests, plague, and parasites. As for the manners and practices of US border agencies, I've had mixed experiences--though often, they're very friendly. But biosecurity is not trivial, and one apple can make a difference--not to mention the problems of galloping sorites.

And yet there aren't any quarantine inspections on trains crossing the border into Victoria from either NSW or SA - never have been. Same goes for NSW to Qld. I'm not arguing against the need for bio security, just pointing out the inconsistency.

Australia is now the only country in the world that is not infected by a particular disease that infects bees. New Guinea, previously free, now has the infection as of a decade or so ago. In the USA it is rife and Oz now has a large export market for disease free bees to pollinate Californian crops. Victoria agricultural land now has to deal with an invasive species that was introduced in the mid 80's. Our tropical wetlands are infested with introduced species that some one probably thought would look nice in the garden. What I don't understand is the people who declare that they have no food yet on inspection they have suitcase after suitcase loaded with the stuff. Once picked up at the carousel by a Beagle who detected the banana we had had in a bag, and left on the aircraft. Once crossing a border in Oz we had a load of fruit on board and had to surrender, asked if we were returning the same way, which we were, were invited to stop and take what we wanted.

Sorry if I sound a tad pedantic but I thought that the aerial spraying was in the 1990's? I do remember that several people claimed that they became ill because of it as it caused them breathing problems. In fact I knew a chap who was genuinely convinced his health suffered as a result and he seemed 100% genuine to me and my wife. Oh yes and he didn't try to claim compensation. :)

Couple points here; 1 - The fine is assessed after the fact. The form allows the person to admit to the administrative violation, and agree to pay the fine within a few weeks. Or - one can ask for an administrative hearing by not checking the 'agree to pay' box. There's no downside to not checking the 'agree to pay' because you can always later admit to the violation, pay the fine and be done with it. Or - one can go to the admin hearing, have your case heard, and ask that the fine be reduced, or eliminated by apologizing and grovelling, etc. Of course, the fine may be imposed or even increased.

2 - The US(and AU, and NZ, etc) are huge producers of ag commodities. The San Joaquin, Imperial, and central valleys of CA are the richest production per pound on the Earth. Even a small infestation of a foreign agent can cost billions. In the late 50s early 60s the entire world production of Bananas was imperiled by an infestation. It could happen again. As noted already, we are in a crisis with bees right now, and the news is not good for many plants which rely on pollination.

3 - I'm not a big fan of a lot of admin rules, but really, for all that is holy, just check the effing box, and be done with it. Anytime I go through customs, I read the form. I fill out the form. I check the form again, then I go through my stuff mentally and verify. If I make a mistake and it's found out later, I agree with the agent, apologize, let them know it was an oversight, and if they fine me anyway, I don't check the 'agree to pay fine' box. Consult an atty, go to the hearing, ask for forgiveness, and take my chances.

I don't have a lot of pity for either the woman, or for the CBP agent. The one good thing to come out of this is it will reinforce to some small segment of the travelling public that reads this to follow directions.

The delta FA handed it to her on the way OUT. So I am sure she asssuend it was ok. Yes sounds like a very HONEST MISTAKE

As UK Crew I often took Iceberg Lettuce home from the USA, ( don't ask, but the kids preferred them to the floppy leaf variety which was all we seemed to be able to buy in Darkest Dorset of that era ) then UK Customs announced that one needed some sort of agricultural certificate (name escapes me, Iso... something ) to import lettuce into the UK.

Walking back to the hotel in Seattle one morning, having completed the obligatory shopping commands at a Supermarket before returning to UK that night, I passed an office block entitled - USA Dept of Agriculture - so went inside and found a man in an office and asked if he could issue the necessary agricultural certificate to import lettuce to the UK ? He seemed to know what I was talking about, and agreed that he could, and proceeded to load a Remington typewriter with a sheaf of forms with interleaving carbon paper, then typed away for a bit, finally asking me my name, and then..... how many crates of lettuce will you be importing ? Just one, I replied. What ! he said, only one crate ? No, just one lettuce. After awhile he calmed down and asked WTF was I doing wasting his time ? Not my fault, I replied, the UK Customs demand a form for importing lettuce, and I'm taking one home for my kids tonight. Eventually he saw the funny side of it, and having taken so long, and more or less completed the form anyway, he rubber stamped and signed it and wished me the best of luck.

Arriving at Heathrow I declared Iceberg Lettuce on the crew Customs declaration, and an almost gleeful Customs Hofficer, foreseeing US Iceberg Lettuce available for his tea, promptly advised that I couldn't bring Iceberg Lettuce into the UK without the necessary agricultural certificate and he would have to confiscate it for destruction -at which I promptly gave him the cert. Collapse of stout party.

I never repeated the exercise, but sometimes it's fun to wind them up.

It's not quite what she said, but I can see that it may have been just an honest mistake anyway.

I don't know what that means exactly, but typically they might give you a piece of fruit some time before TOD.
May have been later in this case, but not at the door on the way out. The FA probably had a reasonable expectation that the apple was about to be eaten.
Me? I'd have politely refused the apple if I didn't want it.

Also, before condemning the CBP person for being overly zealous I'd like to hear their side of the story.
I can't help but be suspicious that there is more to this story than the newspaper is telling us.

Given this was presumably a US aircraft (being Delta), where do they load the (sealed in a bag) apples, and what happens if there's a whole load of them left on the aircraft on arrival (or any foodstuffs for that matter)?

British Airways flight BA0001 from London City to JFK clears US Customs in Shannon. Presumably, a BA flight attendant giving you an apple after the Irish stopover would not be inducing you to commit a crime if you took it off the plane in the "Big Apple".

Not apples, but liquid. A few years ago I flew into Atlanta. During the flight I helped with a sick passenger and on disembarking the steward gave me a bottle of wine as a thank-you. When I went through customs (I suppose it was) they confiscated the bottle as I was not allowed to import liquid, just as I could not board an aircraft carrying liquid, as we all know. But there was no explanation as to why I could not take my bottle in with me. The only possibility the agent offered was for me to go airside again, find my suitcase, put the bottle in it and then do the whole clearance again.

Can anyone explain that?

Laurence

First question would be: Can you clarify why were you going through customs without your suitcase?

Second question that possibly follows on from that: Were you by any chance connecting from ATL and your hold baggage was checked through onto another service?

Wiggy: No, I was leaving the flight at ATL.
This was in 2006 so my memory may not be 100%. I recall that the agent gave me the option of putting the bottle in my checked bag. The main point is why I was not allowed to take a bottle into the country.

Laurence

It appears you had a connecting flight. Passengers virtually worldwide are not allowed liquids exceeding 3 ounces. The customs area is not secure since you have access to your checked luggage which can legally contain items such as knives, guns, liquids ect..
Leaving customs for the above reasons you are subject to the same rules as if you were entering the airport. You could have placed the bottle in your checked bag and everything would have been fine. If you did not have a connecting flight and exited to the non sterile area you would also have been fine.

Missing in this discussion is the fact that the woman entered the country using global entry. This is a trusted traveler system where you normally skip all checks other than a very infrequent random checks. It works on the honor system and in order to be enrolled the woman had to watch a video and acknowledge she was aware of what is and is not allowed. since It functions on the honor system violations are treated more severely than had she entered customs the normal way. In addition she would have been asked and had to check she did not have any banned items at the kiosk.

l. garey
I got that, but what happened next?

Did you walk/take a train/took a bus or car out of the airport? Without your hold baggage??

Or is there a chance you got off the first flight, and got onto another at ATL, but your hold bags were tagged through to final destination, so remained airside??

In that case then as Sailvi has said it is possible the bottle was removed from you because of onwards carriage rules regarding handbaggage, and was not due to a customs ban on the import of liquids into the States.

I've been in and out of the US plenty of times from well before 2006 and have taken liquids in without a problem, declaring stuff as/if appropriate.

Well this is news, any links

Woman fined US$500 for taking 'free' apple from Delta flight through customs | South China Morning Post

Not sure why link is not clickable. You will have to cut and paste it. Working now for some reason, perhaps mods fixed it.

I often picked up the domestic portion of a flight that had arrived from Europe. The cleaners weren't allow aboard until customs sprayed the remaining food stuffs. Then the company disposed of it in a prescribed manner. May be different now. I retired in 1990.

Headline *should* be:
Then put it in JetBlast

As I suspected, a bit more to this story than the original report might have you believe.

And, sorry Sailvi767, but the following is not entirely true.

Boarding aircraft in much of Asia and Australia with duty free liquor / perfume, etc is entirely acceptable, depending on destination and provided it has been purchased and bagged at an airside duty free outlet.


That sort of excludes a fair swathe of worldwide, virtually or otherwise.
Domestic flights within Australia are not subject to restrictions on how much liquid, aerosols and gels you can carry onboard.

Admittedly you may run into problems at the next transit airport, but boarding is often permissible.

It’s been my experience that you can’t clear security with duty free. All duty free must be purchased inside the secure zone. Might be different in some places. Once inside the secure zone you are free to purchase any liquids you like from water to alcohol.

As in "depending on destination and provided it has been purchased and bagged at an airside duty free outlet."

You may well have problems making a transit transfer with liquor bagged and sealed at point of origin.

I don't want to bog the original discussion down with my adventures with a bottle of Lufthansa wine. But:

I got off the flight, which was FRA-ATL at ATL. I can't recall how ATL is arranged for customs etc. On hind sight, and after the comments in the last couple of posts on the subject, I suppose I had passed customs with my checked bag, before having my bottle confiscated at the last security desk just before the outside world. What the agent must have said to me was probably that in order not to lose my wine I would need to put the bottle in my checked bag, then recheck it. Something like that, which didn't sound reasonable. Not a good idea at any time, especially having just flown FRA-ATL.

So the story is limited to my still being surprised to be told that I could not take a bottle of wine, an in-flight gift, into Atlanta.

Laurence

There's no such restriction and there never has been. You were a victim of theft.

Well colour me confused...I’ve entered the States from Europe (including through ATL, a multitude of times) and over the years have seen a multitude of passengers get through the American “system” without handing over their booze (in their hand baggage, bought airside at the airport of departure) so all I can say is your experience sounds very strange...

This is incorrect. You can not take a bottle of wine through security into the sterile area at any US, EU or for that matter almost anywhere in the world. The ability to do that ended 15 or more years ago. You can’t even take a bottle of water.
What a few are not grasping is that once you clear customs and immigration you are not in the secure area of the airport. To get back into the secure area you must be screened by TSA just as if you arrived at the airport for your first flight segment. If you purchased duty free at the departure airport it will also be taken from you unless you place it in your checked bag and recheck it after customs. You will have your checked bag with you clearing customs so it’s no problem to do so.