JFK allowed passengers arriving on international flight to exit without going through
JFK allowed passengers arriving on international flight to exit without going through Customs
BY Victoria Bekiempis, Denis Slattery
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Saturday, January 23, 2016, 7:59 PM
http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopo...n-airlines.jpg DelMundo, Anthony freelance NYDN/Anthony DelMundo Airline and security officials let travelers on American Airlines Flight 1223 from Cancun, Mexico, out of the airport without having their passports or bags checked, sources told The News.
Passengers arriving at Kennedy Airport on an international flight were allowed to exit the busy hub without going through Customs — for at least the second time in recent months, the Daily News has learned.
Bumbling airline and security officials let travelers on American Airlines Flight 1223 from Cancun, Mexico, out of the airport on Monday morning without having their passports or bags checked, sources told The News.
The security lapse mirrored a similar incident involving another American Airlines flight in November.
A 34-year-old man who had been in Cancun to attend three Phish concerts told The News he was able to glide from the plane to the baggage claim area without having to endure the usual maze of Customs and Border Protection security checks.
EXCLUSIVE: 150 ON FLIGHT FROM MEXICO ALLOWED TO SKIP CUSTOMS, LEAVE JFK
“It’s absolutely absurd,” the business adviser said. “To think that anyone could be walking off of that plane and just get right into the city. It could be terrorists, El Chapo’s henchmen, anyone.”
The jam band fan said he even approached a Transportation Security Administration agent near the exit, but was told he was free to go.
http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopo...5/bonnaroo.jpg Dave Martin/ASSOCIATED PRESS A man who had been in Cancun to attend three Phish concerts told The News he was able to glide from the plane to the baggage claim area without having to endure Customs and Border Protection security checks.
“I told them what happened and asked them what should I do,” the passenger said. “They said to me ‘That’s fine, you’re OK. Go ahead.’ ”
Several other concertgoers who were on the flight were already outside at the curbside cab line when he exited the airport.
Neither the TSA, which screens passengers before they fly, nor the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, part of the Department of Homeland Security, responded to a request for comment.
It was unclear how many of the passengers from the flight were able to skip the security checkpoints
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Hours after the plane landed, American Airline officials pleaded with the Manhattan man — and presumably other passengers — to return to Kennedy and complete the customs process.
“I apologize for any inconvenience this may be for you; however it is a Customs requirement that every passenger entering the United States must clear Customs,” the airline wrote in an email sent to passengers.
“You could tell that they knew they screwed up and were desperate to get me to come,” the passenger added.
The oversight sparked fears that terrorists could easily slip into the country without having to pass through any checkpoints.
“New York remains the number one target for terrorists and it just made me think of Paris and how easy it would be for them to get in,” he said. “It’s incompetence like this that could lead to another attack.”
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A nearly identical incident involving another American Airlines flight from Cancun unfolded in November, just two days after ISIS released a video threatening New York City with a terrorist attack, The News reported.
American Airlines admitted to the latest security snafu in a statement, but declined to say what they were doing about it.
“We take the safety and security of our customers, employees and operation very seriously,” the company said. “Some passengers on flight 1223 did not complete immigration and customs process upon arrival when they were inadvertently directed to the domestic terminal.”
After the November incident, a Customs spokesman told The News that the agency was “aware of and looking into the incident and is working with our counterparts to resolve it.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...icle-1.2507437
Passengers From Mexico AGAIN Able to Skip Customs at JFK
by CAROLINE MAY
25 Jan 2016
For at least the second time in three months, international travelers arriving from Mexico at Kennedy Airport were able to exit the airport without having their passports or bags inspected, according to The New York Daily News.
Sources tell The Daily News that passengers on on American Airlines Flight 1223 from Cancun, Mexico last Monday were able to skip Customs. The incident is strikingly similar to a November snafu in which passengers — again arriving on an American Airlines fight from Cancun, Mexico — were able to skip customs.
According to The Daily News, American Airlines recognized the mishap hours after the passengers landed, dispatching an email requesting that passengers return to go through customs.
“I apologize for any inconvenience this may be for you; however it is a Customs requirement that every passenger entering the United States must clear Customs,” the email read.
The Daily News spoke to a passenger who was able to leave without the typical security screenings.
“It’s absolutely absurd,” the business adviser, who had been in Cancun to attend several Phish concerts, told the paper. “To think that anyone could be walking off of that plane and just get right into the city. It could be terrorists, El Chapo’s henchmen, anyone.”
The jam band fan said he even approached a Transportation Security Administration agent near the exit, but was told he was free to go.
“I told them what happened and asked them what should I do,” the passenger said. “They said to me ‘That’s fine, you’re OK. Go ahead.’ ”
Several other concertgoers who were on the flight were already outside at the curbside cab line when he exited the airport.
Neither the TSA, which screens passengers before they fly, nor the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, part of the Department of Homeland Security, responded to a request for comment.
In a statement American Airlines acknowledged the misstep.
“We take the safety and security of our customers, employees and operation very seriously,” the airline said in a statement to the paper. “Some passengers on flight 1223 did not complete immigration and customs process upon arrival when they were inadvertently directed to the domestic terminal.”
http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...ustoms-at-jfk/
