Airline Passenger Fined $500 By U.S. Customs After Bringing Free Airline Apple Into The States

A female passenger says she is facing a $500 fine from the U.S. customs agency after she brought a free apple she was given as a snack on a plane, into the country without declaring it properly.

The passenger, Crystal Tadlock was flying in from France to the U.S. on a Delta Airlines flight. The airline’s flight attendants passed out fresh apples in plastic bags to passengers toward the end of the flight. Since Tadlock wasn’t hungry, she put the apple in her carry-on bag with the intention of eating it during her onward connecting flight from Minneapolis to Denver.

However, upon landing in the U.S. and proceeding through immigration, a U.S. border and customs agent discovered the apple in Tadlock’s bag. Undeclared agricultural products are not allowed to be brought into the United States. “He had asked me if my trip to France was expensive and I said, ‘yeah.’ I didn’t really get why he was asking that question, and then he said ‘It’s about to get a lot more expensive after I charge you $500,” Tadlock told KDVR-TV, adding that she wanted to take the case to court.

"It's really unfortunate someone has to go through that and be treated like a criminal over a piece of fruit," Tadlock added.

Tadlock reportedly explained to the customs agent that the apple had been handed to her by a Delta employee — the plastic bag containing the apple had a Delta logo on it — and asked if she could throw it out or eat it. But the customs agent refused and issued her the fine.

She posted a photo on Twitter of the plastic bag and box which had contained the sliced fruit, adding the hashtag "#anappleadaydoesntkeepcustomsaway".

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol would not comment on the case, but said all agricultural items should be declared.

Delta representative confirmed they distribute France apples on their flight pic.twitter.com/Hw4KmyjB9f

Adding to her woes, Tadlock’s Global Entry status, which allows for expedited security checks at international airports and has stringent criteria for clearance, has now been revoked due to the violation.

Tadlock told KDVR that she feels that Delta should have warned customers not to take the apples off the plane or not hand them out at all. "I understand the laws and I understand the Department of Agriculture doesn't want certain insects in the U.S. and such, but once again the apple is from Delta," Tadlock said.

In a statement released after the incident, Delta said, "We encourage our customers to follow U.S. Customs and Border Protection protocols." (With Agency inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 24, 2018 09:27 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).