Delta pax with apple issue at customs wins case w/ help from rep
Jun 8, 2018, 11:13 pm
#16
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I’m not sure the Cuban cigar examples flies. I flat out told CBP I had Cigars & Rum when I returned from Havana and they waived me through. Because they aren’t prohibited anymore......
Jun 9, 2018, 12:04 am
#17
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Jun 9, 2018, 4:46 am
#19
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You're allowed to bring back Cuban cigars if you go to Cuba legally,
Not sure whether customs would have jurisdiction over that though. I imagine they would, just don't know.
Sure, but that means this person was randomly selected twice and both of those times she just happened to be bringing extra fruit from the plane?
Last edited by jetsfan92588; Jun 11, 2018 at 4:12 am
Jun 9, 2018, 5:58 am
#20
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My wife has accidently brought back fruit in her backpack from overseas a couple of times and was never fined or treated improperly. Yes, it's not much fun having all your luggage searched when they find it, but it's just part of the process and nothing personal. I very much suspect there is more to this story and the pax pushed back against the search when caught. The fact that she was trying to blame Delta for the whole affair left a bad taste in my mouth.
Last edited by xliioper; Jun 9, 2018 at 6:05 am
Jun 9, 2018, 6:56 am
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Jun 9, 2018, 7:03 am
#22
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My wife has accidently brought back fruit in her backpack from overseas a couple of times and was never fined or treated improperly. Yes, it's not much fun having all your luggage searched when they find it, but it's just part of the process and nothing personal. I very much suspect there is more to this story and the pax pushed back against the search when caught. The fact that she was trying to blame Delta for the whole affair left a bad taste in my mouth.
IME the DL prelanding announcement is very explicit about food, specifically including food acquired on the flight. If the aircraft was catered overseas, the fruit a FA gives out can be just as risky for plant diseases as fruit purchased at a street market in the same country AFAIK in that DL overseas caterers wouldn't have established a separate "sterile" supply chain for such food items.
Jun 9, 2018, 7:51 am
#23
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My wife has accidently brought back fruit in her backpack from overseas a couple of times and was never fined or treated improperly. Yes, it's not much fun having all your luggage searched when they find it, but it's just part of the process and nothing personal. I very much suspect there is more to this story and the pax pushed back against the search when caught. The fact that she was trying to blame Delta for the whole affair left a bad taste in my mouth.
Jun 9, 2018, 11:25 am
#24
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Glad this eventually worked out for her. ^ to the Congressman for being pro-active and for his common sense.
I'm not a big fan of so-called 'zero tolerance' policies, in part because too many enforcers start getting hung up on 'near zero' items and forget what the original mission focus was - to find serious contraband. It's like training a dog to follow too many different scents (drugs and explosives, for example).
Given the built-in ambiguity about what constitutes 'food', I think even GE folks should be eligible for one warning - not entitled to, but certainly eligible for.
I have to smile whenever someone points out the dangers that could be lurking on a single apple - an apple that might have been allowed if declared. I once bought a Snickers bar overseas. I declared candy, no one looked at it, everything perfectly legal and above board. Go customs!
Not too long after, I opened it up and took a first bite. The peanuts were all wriggling with worms. In an imported food stuff that had been properly declared to customs and allowed in.
I'm not a big fan of so-called 'zero tolerance' policies, in part because too many enforcers start getting hung up on 'near zero' items and forget what the original mission focus was - to find serious contraband. It's like training a dog to follow too many different scents (drugs and explosives, for example).
Given the built-in ambiguity about what constitutes 'food', I think even GE folks should be eligible for one warning - not entitled to, but certainly eligible for.
I have to smile whenever someone points out the dangers that could be lurking on a single apple - an apple that might have been allowed if declared. I once bought a Snickers bar overseas. I declared candy, no one looked at it, everything perfectly legal and above board. Go customs!
Not too long after, I opened it up and took a first bite. The peanuts were all wriggling with worms. In an imported food stuff that had been properly declared to customs and allowed in.
Jun 9, 2018, 1:25 pm
#25
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OK. And what if it is someone's second offense? The imposed fine in this case aligns with a second-offense violation, not first offense.
Jun 9, 2018, 3:23 pm
#26
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Don't think that's correct. It's to eliminate any chance of a threat to agriculture. Not "contraband" whether "serious" or not.
Jun 9, 2018, 4:21 pm
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Jun 9, 2018, 6:40 pm
#29
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If you’ve had issues, my guess is that attitude is the reason why.
I recognize bashing CBP is par for the course on FT, but they have a job to do. Hating people for doing their job or calling them morons is rude, and worse, self-defeating.
I recognize bashing CBP is par for the course on FT, but they have a job to do. Hating people for doing their job or calling them morons is rude, and worse, self-defeating.
Jun 9, 2018, 6:54 pm
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They need to be friendly. They serve the public.