Delta passengers bypass immigration at JFK
Feb 26, 2014, 9:56 am
#1
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Delta passengers bypass immigration at JFK
Some passengers on a Delta London to New York flight Monday night never went through immigration or customs – because their jet landed in the wrong place in a gaffe that raised security fears.
By 10:45 p.m., Port Authority police were still scurrying around the airport in a bid to track down the passengers who had been allowed to bypass Customs.
Those passengers were led back to a Customs area so they could be screened.
But anyone who disembarked without luggage or only a carry-on bag could have walked out of the airport with no screening whatsoever, Rostron said, adding that there were about 54 people aboard the flight.
Those passengers were led back to a Customs area so they could be screened.
But anyone who disembarked without luggage or only a carry-on bag could have walked out of the airport with no screening whatsoever, Rostron said, adding that there were about 54 people aboard the flight.
Oops. I'd hate to be one of the passengers who didn't get rounded up in time. I'm sure CBP is going to make them responsible for getting back to the airport and presenting to a CBP officer.
Feb 26, 2014, 2:42 pm
#5
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Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but wouldn't the tower be at fault? I've never flown in the cockpit of an airliner, but in my parents' small plane, as soon as we land we're directed to switch comms to ground control and they tell us where to taxi (after asking our desired destination).
Feb 26, 2014, 2:49 pm
#6
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ATC doesn't assign destinations at the airport, just the route from point a to point b. The flight crew asked to go to that gate, or at the very least that ramp. Where they got that info from is usually given by the airline rep via ramp control, which is not ATC, via ACARS dispatch, or via voice radio.
Feb 26, 2014, 4:21 pm
#8
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When the gate agents open the door for the arriving flights before passengers start to disembark, they don't at least verify the flight number and where it is originating from? If not, maybe that would be a good and easy way to keep this kind of thing from happening in the future.
I wonder if this was a 757 and a ground controller mistakenly assumed it was a domestic arrival?
I wonder if this was a 757 and a ground controller mistakenly assumed it was a domestic arrival?
Feb 26, 2014, 6:03 pm
#9
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When the gate agents open the door for the arriving flights before passengers start to disembark, they don't at least verify the flight number and where it is originating from? If not, maybe that would be a good and easy way to keep this kind of thing from happening in the future.
I wonder if this was a 757 and a ground controller mistakenly assumed it was a domestic arrival?
I wonder if this was a 757 and a ground controller mistakenly assumed it was a domestic arrival?
Feb 26, 2014, 7:02 pm
#10
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For AA at JFK (T8), except (possibly) for American Eagle gates, when you exit the plane toward the end of the ramp, "ropes" control your exit, to either normal exit or CBP for intl.--these are set by the agent(s) manning the ramp.
Feb 26, 2014, 7:28 pm
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I haven't been spending much time on DL recently, but 767s used to be fairly common from ATL to some of the west coast cities, as well as SLC. I had wondered if DL had begun using the 757s on the London route, but I guess not. The report did say there were only 54 people on that flight. I should get so lucky.
Feb 26, 2014, 10:02 pm
#12
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Yes, he could be fired. That's why they didn't go through immigrations & customs. It was made big gravely mistake. No one who go through the main concourse.
Actually, it was CBP, but not TSA & Port Authority job.
Actually, it was CBP, but not TSA & Port Authority job.
Feb 27, 2014, 1:01 am
#13
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Given that the airline would have checked everyone's documentation prior to boarding, I don't see the issue here. Perhaps the US will lose out on some customs duty, or perhaps some Cuban cigars will find their way to the black market.
Feb 27, 2014, 2:06 am
#14
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While I agree that the security risk is extremely minimal, to the point of non-existence, there is some immigration risk. People routinely get turned away by immigration every day. The airline only does a basic check that the travel document meets the requirements for entry, NOT that the person is permitted to enter.
Feb 27, 2014, 3:54 am
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I haven't been spending much time on DL recently, but 767s used to be fairly common from ATL to some of the west coast cities, as well as SLC. I had wondered if DL had begun using the 757s on the London route, but I guess not. The report did say there were only 54 people on that flight. I should get so lucky.
A few days ago I was on an AA wide-body flight to LHR and it too was mostly empty. And several days before that my AA wide-body flight out of LHR was largely empty too. This is off-peak season, more so on some dates and times than others for N.US-LHR/LHR-N.US flights.