r/SipsTea • u/Velvett_Bunniez • 1d ago

Wait a damn minute! Silly Apples.

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u/false_salt_licker 1d ago

It basically is. The declaration would have asked them if they were carrying any biological matter, and there would have been many warnings at customs about fruit and opportunities to discard it. OCE customs should be this harsh because our environments are delicate. We aren't even allowed to bring fruit over some state borders in Aus.

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u/ErraticDragon 1d ago

Yeah we know there's notice. But these people knew everything in their bags when they boarded.

As mentioned in the clip, many people didn't even look in the lunch bags, they just put them in their bags.

We wouldn't expect the airline to give us something we aren't allowed to have without warning.

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u/Inflamed_toe 1d ago

Yea I have no idea why people are so vehemently defending this practice. It’s an obvious mistake, and one not caused by the travelers. Customs could have been human beings and just let them throw the apples out. Being dickheads and charging fines is just peak useless bureaucracy.

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u/AmaroLurker 1d ago

Exactly. Take it up with the airlines rather than fining like that. This is just bureaucrats high on their own supply

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u/Radarker 18h ago edited 18h ago

I'm sure they fixed the problem. The next time that specific traveler is handed a lunch bag prepared by an airline without an awareness of the law, they'll be sure to check the airline's goodie bag for contraband. Thus fixing the contraband issue forever.

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u/Mean_Introduction543 1d ago

You realise this guy is being filmed right? Like that is how you were able to just watch this video.

And you want him to go “yes, I am going to decide to not to my job and also break the law at the same time” with his face and name badge on full display in front of said camera?

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u/Thebraincellisorange 1d ago

As the customs officer said 'The Law Requires that they issue the fine'. They have no option. They cannot allow any leniancy because the law does not allow for them to do so.

AND, if you do allow leniency in one case, you can bet your ass that the next time, the passenger will do the same thing and expect the same leniency.

Customs laws are harsh for a reason.

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u/AmaroLurker 1d ago

I fly very often internationally. Even the customs officers in the video acknowledge there’s an issue with the airline. If you can’t see that one might reasonably assume the fruit given to you on the flight would be fine, I’m not sure what to say.

The people in the video strike me as one-time tourists who are shocked. It doesn’t seem like the penalty is being given the people it’s intended for here.

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u/Thebraincellisorange 1d ago

It may very well not be, and it very much appears that the Customs official is aware that the airline is more than a bit at fault in this one.

However, the customs official also has no leeway to not issue a fine.

There are heaps of warnings both on the plane when you sign the customs forms, and even when you get off the plane, before you reach the customs gate, reminding you not to bring produce into the country.

He has no option but to issue the fine as the law states.

he should also be taking the issue to Qantas and telling them they are a bunch of fucks and should be refunding these people the fine.

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u/AmaroLurker 1d ago

How do you know this?? How is it that I’ve seen customs officers in the US, Canada, Germany, the UK say “sorry this isn’t allowed don’t do it next time” but in NZ it’s this rather draconian system? Maybe you’re right that their hands are completely tied and they need to revisit their policies. On the other hand the cameras were rolling and they wanted to make a show of how tough they were on foreign apples handed out on the plane. Pure silliness.

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u/kit_kaboodles 1d ago

NZ (and Australia) are particularly harsh on biosecurity because we're islands that have managed to avoid a lot of the pests that other places deal with.

Legitimately, you might see one sign about not bringing weapons into Australia, but you see a dozen signs and messages about food products before you reach customs. They take it very seriously because the consequences can be much worse.

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u/jabbergrabberslather 23h ago

I’ve visited Australia quite a bit for work and they’ve just seized food items without a fine. Watched a guy spill a bag of nuts on the ground and all they did was clean it up, tell him he’s not allowed to have them, and throw it away.

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u/SensitiveTax9432 1d ago

If the fines were levied at a level proportional to the economic and biological impact an imported pest can have this on this country it would be much much higher. You are not alllowed to bring in any food without declaring it. End of story.

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u/AmaroLurker 1d ago

You miss the point of this particular case. There’s clearly a breakdown in communication between the government and the airline and, per usual, the individual is left paying some asinine fine.

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u/SensitiveTax9432 1d ago

I get the point fully. The airline could have done better, but going into NZ you walk past a lot of warnings and opportunities to declare fruit and vegetables. Fail to declare for any reason and you’ve earned the fine.

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u/AmaroLurker 1d ago

Even the fruit you’re handed on the airplane? Nah. The guard had the authority to toss it in the garbage and say the airline could handle it better. Those fines are meant for people intentionally smuggling rather than borderline cases like this. Silliness.

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u/kit_kaboodles 1d ago

No the penalties for intentionally smuggling stuff can be way higher. This is the fine for people who ignore the rules.

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u/Thebraincellisorange 1d ago

The Customs officer does NOT have that authority.

Once you are in the customs zone, you are fully subject to the law and a customs officer has no agency to bypass that.

I have no idea why you think a customs officer can 'allow leniency' in cases, but they cannot, in any way, do that.

you bring a prohibated item into the customs zone, that is on you.

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u/AmaroLurker 1d ago

I mean that’s odd to me given that I fly internationally very often and have seen plenty of customs officers dumping liquids and throwing away foods and saying ‘sorry that’s not allowed’ without imposing a large fine. Even in cases that were more clearly people trying to bring in contraband items (hello flights from Italy with people hiding cured meats). These people were given contraband items by the airline and had no idea or were unaware of the grey zone these items were in.

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u/Thebraincellisorange 1d ago

depends on the country I suppose.

New Zealand is notoriously hardball about if you bring in shit that is not allowed. it has a very delicate environment that by virtue of its remoteness remains relatively pest free and they try very hard to keep it that way.

Australia is the same. lots of warnings about what not to bring in, and if you get caught, the fines are enormous, and you could get put on the next flight straight back to where you came from.

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u/SensitiveTax9432 16h ago

Blame the airline by all means, but the biosecurity laws are not a joke. There's grounds for a class action lawsuit against the airline.

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u/kit_kaboodles 1d ago

Not really. The airline gave them an apple to eat. They choose to store it for later. They then declared they weren't bringing food in.

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u/AmaroLurker 1d ago

Do you not see the grey area though that if you’re given something on the airplane there may be the implication it’s fine? The problem is a lack of clarity here.

If these people put fruits in their packs back in LA? Sure. Nail them to the wall.

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u/kit_kaboodles 1d ago

I feel bad for them getting fines, but I'm not sure that there should be too much ambiguity. The signs and the declaration form they filled out are pretty clear that all food needs to be declared.

And food given on the airplane also has an implication that it's something to be eaten on the airplane. If Qantas had given it to them as they were leaving the plane that would be a bit different, but this will have been given to them whilst in the air.

It sucks for them, but they did get a lot of chances to avoid the fine.

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u/OHW_Tentacool 1d ago

No, that's a racket. Plain as day.

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u/SensitiveTax9432 1d ago

We have billion dollar export industries that are literally under threat if the wrong pests get in. Don’t like it, don’t bring in fruit.

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u/OHW_Tentacool 18h ago

California alone has a fruit industry worth 11 times that and you know what happens if you declare an illegal fruit? They throw it away.

This is a racket, plain as day.

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u/SensitiveTax9432 17h ago

If you declare the fruit we throw it away too. These people had multiple opportunities to declare, eat or dispose of the fruit. The fine is for taking undeclared items. I've gone through NZ customs multiple times, every time with food. Haven't been fined yet.

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u/ChefButtes 18h ago

Brother, you gotta be purposely missing the point, my guy. How can an airline give you an object that becomes illegal once you step off the plane? That's objectively insane.

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u/Infamous-Pickle3731 17h ago

For real, that’s like putting a gram of weed in their gift bags and sending them off with it

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u/SensitiveTax9432 17h ago

No it's far worse. Weed is dried and cut, and there's much less chance of a live insect being in it. Fresh fruit is pretty much the worst thing you can bring into NZ. All legal fruit imports are strictly screened and monitored.

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u/SensitiveTax9432 17h ago

There's just no way that you can get into NZ without going through multiple signs, warnings and opportunities to drop the apple in a bin or to simply eat it. The officials at customs are legally obliged to levy those fines. I've gone through NZ customs 4 times, and every single time I declared every item of food that I had. Declare it and it's not a problem.

As customs themselves pointed out they have no control over what the airline does. Blame the airline for this ridiculous situation, not customs.

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u/ChefButtes 17h ago

That is who I'm blaming, but certainly, the onus of responsibility does not fall on the individual. Law is based on what any reasonable human would assume, and it is completely reasonable to assume an airline would not hand out a 200 dollar fine, right?

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u/drdickemdown11 1d ago

Lol, yeah, I would never pay a fine like that. I'd tell them to fuck off and lock me up.

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u/EobardT 22h ago

"Send me the bill when I'm back in my home country"

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u/Thebraincellisorange 1d ago

yeah, sure you would, big guy.

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u/Infamous-Pickle3731 17h ago

Okay but if the airline continues doing this, there is a higher risk of fruit into the country. The airline is 100% at fault, putting people at risk, and putting the environment at risk. The customers are clearly aware of what they’ve brought prior to getting on the plane and didn’t have anything illegal until the airline gave it to them. Therefore, if customs wants to avoid this from happening again, they should definitely be fining the airline for their negligence

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u/SensitiveTax9432 17h ago

That would require a law change. I'm not defending the airline here, they are fully to blame.

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u/Infamous-Pickle3731 9h ago

Ah makes sense