Airline passenger fined after keeping free airline apple

This also happened to my neighbor who was coming back from Europe. They clearly warn you not to bring fruits or vegetables into the US. His wife was unsympathetic. "You tried to sneak that apple in and got caught. Now pay the fine."
 
Everskyward said:
This also happened to my neighbor who was coming back from Europe. They clearly warn you not to bring fruits or vegetables into the US. His wife was unsympathetic. "You tried to sneak that apple in and got caught. Now pay the fine."
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Maybe. But Delta is a US-flagged airline, the airplane is registered in the US, and the apples were passed out en route. Unless Customs can prove that they were over foreign soil when the apples were passed out, I think admiralty law would hold that they were honest-to-goodness American apples and not subject to Customs declaration. Also, there's a pretty good chance that the apples were grown here in the first place. If so, then she merely repatriated the apple.

Rich
 
RJM62 said:
Maybe. But Delta is a US-flagged airline, the airplane is registered in the US, and the apples were passed out en route. Unless Customs can prove that they were over foreign soil when the apples were passed out, I think admiralty law would hold that they were honest-to-goodness American apples and not subject to Customs declaration. Also, there's a pretty good chance that the apples were grown here in the first place. If so, then she merely repatriated the apple.

Rich
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If you pick up cargo on the high seas then customs has a conniption fit when you show up at a US port. I have seen this first hand. In this case the passenger should have declared the apple then customs would have just thrown it away with no fine.
 
RJM62 said:
Maybe. But Delta is a US-flagged airline, the airplane is registered in the US, and the apples were passed out en route. Unless Customs can prove that they were over foreign soil when the apples were passed out, I think admiralty law would hold that they were honest-to-goodness American apples and not subject to Customs declaration. Also, there's a pretty good chance that the apples were grown here in the first place. If so, then she merely repatriated the apple.

Rich
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That's what we would say with fruit and vegetables we brought in from Canada, LOL.

They would let us bring catering from Canada, if it was from a caterer, but frowned upon fruits and vegetables, etc. we bought ourselves at a grocery store. :sosp:
 
As I understand it, it wasn’t the apple that got him fined. It was that he did not declare it. If he declared it they would have taken the apple, but no fine.
 
Kritchlow said:
As I understand it, it wasn’t the apple that got him fined. It was that he did not declare it. If he declared it they would have taken the apple, but no fine.
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I think that was the case.

What annoys me about this is the way the media has been sensationalizing it. With misleading headlines that make it look like it was the airline going after the passenger for stealing snacks.
 
I read that article too and sympathized with the passenger.
The airline gives you an apple, setting you up for trouble at customs.
Why don't they go big and just hand people some cocaine as they are disembarking.
 
I demand Sac obtain the apple or a reasonable facsimile of same and do a Pirep after preparing and eating said apple.

Cheers
 
You’re supposed to hide that apple in a bag belonging to someone you don’t like. It give the dogs something to sniff for.
 
Soybean aphids, Japanese beetles, emerald ash borer, hoof-and-mouth disease and it goes on and on. The objective of the law is deter introduction of non-indigenous life forms that turn into pests. All of the above have cost billions - not millions but billions of dollars in lost revenue over the years. It's a good law for a good purpose.

The airline should have advised the passenger to consume the apple or at least not take it off the airplane.

Better yet, the airline might consider simply not having the problematic foods on the airplane at all. Give them applesauce.
 
Back in the spring of 2000 I was driving from Alaska to Texas. I had bought a bag of oranges to eat along the way. Before I got to the Canadian border, I stopped and ate the last 7 or 8 oranges because I thought I would not be able to bring fruit into Canada.

And I am here to tell ya, eating that many oranges in one sitting made the next few hours of traveling very interesting....
 
The US Customs rules are well known and well described. The "victim" had Global Entry - in the GE interview they are explicit about declaring food. Period. I make a point to not bring in food.

That the airline passed out apples is a red herring. That's part of the meal service. I don't see folks bringing the rubber chicken or similar meal items off the plane.

I'll be blunt: from my point of view this person was whining instead of accepting personal responsibility for her actions - thing she would have been told multiple times prior to the event. Had she simply declared it, likely it would have been confiscated and destroyed, but she would not be facing a fine or revocation of her GE membership. At some point, the media should be responsible for their behavior (at the very least, learn the facts). Maybe we need to license journalists to protect us from the harm they cause. (tongue in cheek on the last sentence).
 
I often bring back packaged food and always have declared it. Almost always some candy unavailable in my home location. Never a problem. Fruit goes in the stomach or trash.

Cheers
 
Anymouse said:
Ban all food from airplanes!!
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My experience is that happened a long time ago. The overpriced sandwiches they throw at you with the free coffee couldn't be called "food" without some imagination.
 
Fearless Tower said:
What annoys me about this is the way the media has been sensationalizing it. With misleading headlines that make it look like it was the airline going after the passenger for stealing snacks.
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I don't know what media you're reading, listening to, or watching but I haven't seen that slant in the coverage I've seen from 3 or 4 outlets.
 
RJM62 said:
Maybe. But Delta is a US-flagged airline, the airplane is registered in the US, and the apples were passed out en route. Unless Customs can prove that they were over foreign soil when the apples were passed out, I think admiralty law would hold that they were honest-to-goodness American apples and not subject to Customs declaration. Also, there's a pretty good chance that the apples were grown here in the first place. If so, then she merely repatriated the apple.

Rich
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The rules are there to protect the domestic agriculture industry from potential pest importation. What's painted on the tail of the airplane or the fact it carries and "N" number is irrelevant in this purpose. And if the flight originated in France, highly unlikely it was an American grown apple.
 
sourdough44 said:
You’re supposed to hide that apple in a bag belonging to someone you don’t like. It give the dogs something to sniff for.
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Hell, just act nice about it... "I don't think I can eat this... do you want it for later?" (Sweet smile... after they've done something horribly annoying the entire flight...)

It's an intelligence test. They might pass, they might fail. :)
 
Surely there is someone in charge of food service who is getting reports of such things, and has enough sense to alter the menus slightly and not deliver foods that are getting their patrons fined and jailed. I guarantee it is not that difficult to change from an apple to a twinkie.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Surely there is someone in charge of food service who is getting reports of such things, and has enough sense to alter the menus slightly and not deliver foods that are getting their patrons fined and jailed. I guarantee it is not that difficult to change from an apple to a twinkie.
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I am not experienced in changing from an apple to a twinkie. Perhaps you could explain the process? Are there spells or incantations? Or perhaps you meant it metaphorically? This is very confussing...
 
GRG55 said:
The rules are there to protect the domestic agriculture industry from potential pest importation. What's painted on the tail of the airplane or the fact it carries and "N" number is irrelevant in this purpose. And if the flight originated in France, highly unlikely it was an American grown apple.
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I thought the bit about "repatriating" the apple would have made it sufficiently obvious that my post was facetious. I guess I'll have to try harder next time.

Rich
 
RJM62 said:
I thought the bit about "repatriating" the apple would have made it sufficiently obvious that my post was facetious. I guess I'll have to try harder next time.

Rich
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I picked up on the sarcasm. That’s a pretty good indication you were successful in your efforts.
 
I saw something like this happen in front of me one time, but I don't know what the outcome was. We were waiting in line to go thru Customs (or maybe it was passport control, can't remember) and the Customs people had dogs. The dog (it was a little beagle) alerted to the backpack owned by the woman in front of me. The agent asked her to open the pack, and there was a banana in there. I don't think she got fined or anything, as I recall the agent just took it. Maybe it was because we hadn't actually passed thru customs yet?
I've passed thru the Amsterdam airport several times, and they sell tulip bulbs in kiosks at several locations in the airport that people can bring home for souvenirs. I asked one of my co-workers about that, and he said that as long as the bulb was packaged (they were) that you could bring them home, but if I bought loose bulbs at a nursery in Holland, I couldn't bring them in. I just wondered about the people that may have bought what I assume were pretty pricey bulbs in the airport that got them confiscated after landing in the US.
 
Every time customs stopped with with fruit, I was just told to either eat it now, or throw it away.

Once ate like 10 guava's that way. Didn't feel to good on the drive home...
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Surely there is someone in charge of food service who is getting reports of such things, and has enough sense to alter the menus slightly and not deliver foods that are getting their patrons fined and jailed.
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You are not allowed to bring any fresh food from the airline into the country. All uneaten plants, fruits, meats, etc. must be thrown out.

The passenger wasn't fined for bringing an apple through Customs. The passenger was fined for not declaring the apple. If you have any food--even allowed food--you must check "Yes" to that question. If they then find that you have prohibited food it is thrown out without penalty.

The violation is not declaring the food. This is not a new requirement.
 
I think I violated the rules coming back from India.

I was near livestock. There are cows wandering around in the streets. I didn't touch any, but was within 3 feet of a couple of them.

I brought back some Teas and some Honey. I didn't report them.

I will accept the shame and self-ban myself for 8 hours. 10PM to 6AM tonight.
 
KRyan said:
I've passed thru the Amsterdam airport several times, and they sell tulip bulbs in kiosks at several locations in the airport that people can bring home for souvenirs. I asked one of my co-workers about that, and he said that as long as the bulb was packaged (they were) that you could bring them home, but if I bought loose bulbs at a nursery in Holland, I couldn't bring them in. I just wondered about the people that may have bought what I assume were pretty pricey bulbs in the airport that got them confiscated after landing in the US.
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Unless it has changed very recently, you can bring back packaged tulips that have a special US stamp or tag on them. Packaged + stamp/tag.

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/600/~/importing-plants-and-plant-products
 
This is simple to correct, if the flight attendant would simply make an announcement (immediately before or after passing them out) warning the passengers to NOT save the fruit and take it thru customs.

Easy peasy.

But...

Getting a $500 fine for throwing an apple in your purse that the airlines just gave you is absolutely stooopid. Take it away, sure. Explain the issue, sure. Fine? F no.

Especially since it's being reported that the customs agent was a real smart ass and told the lady that her european trip was about to get a lot more expensive. If that's accurate it sounds to me like customs enjoys power trips as much as the tsa does.
 
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timwinters said:
This is simple to correct, if the flight attendant would simply make an announcement (immediately before or after passing them out) warning the passengers to NOT save the fruit and take it thru customs.

Easy peasy.

But...

Getting a $500 fine for throwing an apple in your purse that the airlines just gave you is absolutely stooopid. Take it, sure. Explain the issue, sure. Fine? F no.

Especially since it's being reported that the customs agent was a real smart ass and told the lady that her european trip was about to get a lot more expensive. If that's accurate it sounds to me like customs enjoys power trips as much as the tsa does.
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Or people could actually read what they’re signing on the declaration form.
 
What's the text of the question?

If I'm on a US airline and I board in France, do I know if the apple is being brought IN TO the US or BACK TO the US?

I could be repatriating a US Apple that was wrongfully deported to France.

This reminds me of:
 
Ravioli said:
What's the text of the question?
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I was not able to find a listing of the exact questions online. The food question asks, in part, if you are carrying "fruits, plants, food, insects".

If I'm on a US airline and I board in France, do I know if the apple is being brought IN TO the US or BACK TO the US?
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1. It doesn't matter. If fruit is disallowed when entering from your departure point (country) then fruit is disallowed regardless of where the fruit was boarded onto the airplane.

2. You don't have to know if the food you are carrying is permitted. If you are carrying ANY FOOD then you must answer YES to the question asking if you are carrying food. If your food is prohibited, it will be thrown away without penalty. If you are carrying food and answered NO, you could be fined up to $10,000.

The CBP site says the following:

Must I declare food items or products when using the Global entry kiosk?
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Yes, all food items and products must be declared when entering the U.S.

You may be able to bring in food such as fruits, meats or other agricultural products depending on the region or country from which you are traveling.

Restrictions are placed on these products to protect community health, preserve the environment and prevent the introduction of devastating diseases to domestic plants and animals.

Failure to declare food products can result in up to $10,000 in fines and penalties and dismissal from the Global Entry program. Travelers may check the general admissibility of fruits and vegetables by consulting APHIS's FAVIR database athttp://www.aphis.usda.gov/favir/.
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timwinters said:
Especially since it's being reported that the customs agent was a real smart ass and told the lady that her european trip was about to get a lot more expensive. If that's accurate it sounds to me like customs enjoys power trips as much as the tsa does.
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This is their core mission.

:p
 
Did the airline declare all of their food transportation?

It's a very odd regulation.

Also, if the liquor bottle was purchased in a country other than the destination or operator, who is the import duty assessed?

Yes, it's absurd minutia, but this is PoA.
 
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