Originally Posted by
Scots_Al
I've never understood why the US has this completely bizarre system of having to collect your purchases at the gate, and why they can't operate like most other places - i.e. you buy at the shop, you take your goods there and then... it's not like (most!) people are going to crack open their cheap bottle in the airport whilst waiting for boarding!
It seems like incidents such as the OPs are bound to happen on a regular basis.
I don't usually buy duty free purchase, so someone please correct me if I am wrong.
From what I understand, the US requires delivery at the gate because many US airports mix international flights with domestic flights. So, the only way to be relatively sure that the traveler will be flying out of the US will be to deliver the purchases at their international flight gates.