Passengers on a New York-bound Delta Air Lines flight yesterday ended up bypassing U.S. border controls upon arrival. Delta Flight 3 from London’s Heathrow Airport arrived at gate B33 last night at John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal 4. Delta employees apparently failed to send disembarking passengers ... (www.frequentbusinesstraveler.com) 更多...
I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often. The difference between sending everyone into the domestic terminal vs arriving into the CBP area is just which door is propped open.
Especially with some flights from some cities having preclearance, and some not. We probably just don't hear about it. Doesn't fit with 'security theatre'.
This happened to me once in the Republic of Turkey. Attempting to leave the country (Turkey) on my next trip was quite interesting! Hope that doesn't happen to these folks.
"Delta employees apparently failed to send disembarking passengers down the right set of doors to reach U.S. Customs and Border Protection passport control agents..."
Sounds like the airline was complicit in this break in protocol and border incursion. A fine would not only be appropriate, but necessary to prevent future similar oversights in the future.
At US airports, most "international" gates can either open to the terminal or open to US Customs. Recall that as you board an international flight, you board from the "regular" terminal area. If you arrive on a domestic flight at the same gate, you're directed into the "regular" terminal area. International arrivals (should) get directed through a back corridor to the international arrivals area.
The gate agent greeting the flight would come from the "domestic" side of the departure area to fit the jetbridge and open the aircraft door. I'd speculate that the wrong door was left opened and unsuspecting passengers were directed to the domestic portion of the terminal.
Just imagine if just ONE of those passengers was a terrorist. This is what happens when you hire outside contract employees to do this job at meager wages. They could probably care less. All this cost cutting to the point of having unqualified employees will some day again turn around and bite us in the butt.
I'm with you on this one. Especially given the fact that outside contractors are only in it if they can continue to cut costs. Unfortunately, there have been many instances where it has been found that they do not do the best job when it comes to required screening and background checks.
for all we know (and I would not be shocked) this was planned and paid for. I would not think this way if most of the population in this world did not love money so much...everybody seems to have their price to do whatever.....not me, I actually hate money. This day in age one would think this to be impossible and multiple layers should be in place to see to the impossibility especially in NY!!! Strange in the extreme the way I see it....what will be next?
Really James? Why wouldn't they have been "perfect"? There was no emergency involved. Just another screw up by the very people who are supposed to be protecting us. Suppose one of those people who bypassed customs had something in their carry-on that was infectious or otherwise dangerous. The point is, this should never happen.
Doesn't happen at YYZ where every passenger must run the gauntlet of the Customs man. Or woman :-( There is no chopice. You MUST step this way...there is no "other" door....
Great, just bloody great! Which one of our current regime's employees was on that flight? Valerie Jarret? John Holdren? Eric Holder? Joe Biden? John Boehner? Mitch McConnell?...
Nope, not a CBP failure. Delta gate agents are responsible for meeting the plane at the gate. If CBP is at the gate to meet the plane, then that usually means something out of the ordinary has happened or there's a person of interest on board.
This has happened at Hartsfield in Atlanta before.