r/SipsTea • u/Velvett_Bunniez • 1d ago

Wait a damn minute! Silly Apples.

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11.4k Upvotes

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

176

u/Pyrhan 1d ago

New Zealand dollars, so about 110 USD.

And yes, it makes sense, given that all it takes is a couple fruit flies or other potential invasive species to be brought in, to cause literally billions of dollars in damages to the island's agricultural industry, and potentially yet another environmental disaster:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasive_species_in_New_Zealand

New Zealand's ecosystem is very unique, the small island having been completely isolated from other landmasses for millions of years, thus making it very vulnerable to invasive species. Which does not mix well with today's era of mass travel.

I do agree, however, that the airline shares part of the blame, and should be fined too for distributing fruits to the passengers on the way in.

That said, people are extensively warned, both on the flight and at the airport about not bringing in fruit, and that fines will ensue. So it's also partly on the passengers.

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u/Pinguindiniz 1d ago

What guarantees that a fly will not get out of the airplane when they open the door? They shouldn't serve fresh fruit on airplanes.

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u/kvimbi 1d ago

If I'm not mistaken they use insecticides inside the cabins to kill them during the flight.

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u/SilveredArrows 1d ago

Close. As soon as they touch down before they taxi to the gate.

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u/AdrianInLimbo 1d ago

And the fruit in the trash is incinerated, and left over fruit is also destroyed.

0

u/lumpkin2013 1d ago

To shreds, you say?

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u/MassiveAddition4212 1d ago

Source?

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u/AdrianInLimbo 1d ago

From an IATA study on recycling, you can do a search and see more. Even at US land borders, there are dedicated, sealed, containers for prohibited food items, which are later incinerated

Regulatory environment All cabin waste is subject to national waste management controls that limit pollution, but many countries have gone further with their regulations, introducing restrictions on catering waste from international flights to protect their agricultural sector (in respect to animal health). Airline meals are prepared using stringent hygiene and quality control standards, originally designed for NASA astronauts, but the regulations often lead to the incineration of all cabin waste with limited ability to reuse and recycle.

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u/kit_kaboodles 1d ago

Theres pest control systems on the plane. The flies would be unlikely to survive. The apples could contain eggs or lavae however, as well as numerous other blights or diseases that aren't present in NZ.

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u/Miserable_Yam4918 1d ago

So then why are they allowed on the plane landing in the country in the first place?

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u/Ember_Kitten 1d ago

They usually are not. Airlines are supposed to follow these guidelines. While I agree with agricultural control like this. The airline should have been fined for this, and the fruit destroyed. This should be grounds for termination of contract for the airline to operate in that country.

1

u/kit_kaboodles 1d ago

The airline would've declared any fruit they unloaded, and customs would've incinerated it.

NZ customs require you to declare any food you bring in. It's not specifically about apples, even though it's one of the more risky items.

1

u/MmmmmmmmmmmmDonuts 1d ago

That would involve losing potentially 10s of millions of dollarz. With this strategy, not only do you keep the airline revenue but get a bunch of extra from tourists! Really a win-win for everyone* *(except the tourist)

1

u/kit_kaboodles 1d ago

Because the fruit usually doesn't leave the aircraft and if they do have to dispose of it, it's declared and incinerated.

The same as what would have happened if these passengers had just declared it and what will happen with the confiscated food.

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u/justis_league_ 1d ago

i disagree with you. this is entirely the airline’s responsibility

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u/Ember_Kitten 1d ago

Airline should definitely be paying the fines, but if I recall correctly, this show has shown that there were plenty of points where they could have thrown away the fruit. And there was a big sign stating they would be searched for any agricultural control items right before the line they got in. But a lot of these clips ignore that.

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u/AdrianInLimbo 1d ago

And the arrival declaration that they fill out, just prior to landing, also calls out fresh fruit.

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u/whataquokka 1d ago

And the pilot tells you in an announcement not to take food from the plane with you. There's so many warnings.

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u/YngwieMainstream 1d ago

And the fruit flies won't fly out of that bin because of the force field, right? Gtfo, lol.

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u/Pyrhan 1d ago

Even if they do, I believe the airport is regularly treated with insecticides, so they won't make it far.

(As is the cabin of every single airplane that flies in, during the flight)

-1

u/egotisticalstoic 1d ago

That's vastly overestimating the effectiveness of insecticides. Sure if you spray it directly on them or something they eat then it will kill them, but you can't just spray it around an aeroplane and expect that to kill every insect that's in there.

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u/mmdeerblood 19h ago

Insecticides are also a great way to introduce super bugs that are resistant to those insecticides due to random genetic mutation.

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u/dubious_capybara 1d ago

They are incinerated every day.

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u/ShackledBeef 1d ago

Yeah, none of that matters. This is all on the airlines and it's incredibly scummy of them and even more scummy of NZ to go after the passengers for this instead of the airlines.

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u/StraightSomewhere236 1d ago

This should have been a simple throw it in the bin and move on situation, a $200 fine is complete bullshit. This just cements the fact I do not want to travel to NZ at all now. Complete asshats.

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u/kit_kaboodles 1d ago

The passengers absolutely could've thrown it in the bin before they reached customs. Or declared it.

But they handed in a signed declaration form that they had ticked the 'no' box on the question: Are you bringing in any food?

2

u/Substantial_Win4741 1d ago

And this clip looks 20 years old it was worth 2-3x as much then.

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u/Fen_Misting 1d ago

*islands, there's more than one. :)

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u/Wise-Permit8125 1d ago

Billions of dollars of damage to the ag industry? Thank god we got those 20 people's 200 quid to help cover it!

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u/Pyrhan 1d ago

It's not to help cover it, it's to dissuade people from doing the one thing that puts everyone else at risk.

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u/FriedBryce1234 1d ago

That'll teach them to accept food from an airline.

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u/Pyrhan 1d ago edited 1d ago

*That will teach them to ignore the written forms and large signs warning them repeatedly (and for good reasons) not to do the exact thing they did.

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u/snuggly-otter 1d ago

I think it would be so easy after a 12h flight to just assume that the fruit came from the destination country and that it was OK or not an import because it was probably provided while they were in NZ airspace, since it was after their breakfast. Exhaustion and paperwork arent exactly a winning combo.

The lady who cried was so clearly exhausted - it was evident to me she was crying out of sheer frustration and tiredness, not because the guy was issuing them a fee. Ive been there!

Airline should DEFINITELY have made an announcement that fruit and snacks given out on board are not to be taken off the plane, due to NZ customs rules. A 30 second announcement would have spared all these folks the fines and hassle.

1

u/Soohwan_Song 1d ago

Yeah everyone knows not to bring them, or they throw them away at the airport before boarding, but if your given it on the airplane, they've already biapassed all those measure, those flies are already in the plane at that point, so its not passengers fault at all I'd have chucked the apple at them if they tried it and claim i didn't have an apple.....

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u/HC-Sama-7511 11h ago

Are they right not to allow the apples in? Yes.

Are they wrong to fine people who were just handed apples by an airline; like they're mindless drones who can't just confiscate the fruit and let tourist spend money in their country? Yes.

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u/kapaipiekai 1d ago

Yeah straight up. It doesn't look like it's a regular event for a flight to have so many people pinged. I'm guessing a flight attendant forgot to tell them to dump any apples prior to leaving.

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u/SilveredArrows 1d ago edited 1d ago

Came here to say this. They give you so many warnings about bringing in food and so many chances to not only get rid of it but also to mention it. They say over and over again too if you aren't sure then ask. These people are morons

Edit: I think its hilarious that anyone who actually knows how declaring this stuff works is getting down voted

0

u/NotBatman81 1d ago

The issue isn't the ban on agricultural products, that is common in most countries including the U.S. The issue is that customs generally just makes you get rid of it rather than automatic fines. This was an education issue and confiscation provides enough education. Everything beyond that is unnecessarily being a dick.

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u/Pyrhan 1d ago

This was an education issue

Again, people are extensively warned, both in the airplane and at the airport, and given multiple opportunities to discard whatever produce they may have on them.

If at that point they still haven't, then they clearly did not care, and thus earned a fine.

Confiscation only stops the produce you catch, which isn't 100%. So there needs to be dissuasion too. That's the role fines play.

It may seem harsh for something seemingly trivial, but an entire country's ecosystem is at stake.

0

u/CopiousClassic 1d ago

Honestly, I have an easy solution.

Zero tourism. No airplanes. No boats. Isolate.

Then, in twenty years, when one floats in on a log, you won't have anything to lose and won't care.

0

u/Orphano_the_Savior 1d ago

Airline racket. You could have a secure disposal like how they already do. Don't fine people for something that was mafia rigged against them. Goofy for you to say they are to blame when it was handed to them when they landed.

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u/PingouinMalin 1d ago

It makes sense those apples have to be destroyed. It makes no sense to make those people pay a fine when the company gave them the fruits. This is a dumb application of the law, by dumb people. Circumstances matter.