NEW YORK: Airline and security officials at New York’s JFK airport have been facing some tough questions after media revealed that more than a dozen passengers were allowed to bypass immigration and customs upon landing. American Airlines flight 1671 departed Cancun and landed at JFK at 8:50pm last Friday with 76 passengers and six crew members. After deplaning, 13 passengers were allowed to completely skip formal border-crossing procedures, simply exiting into the terminal.
Passengers told that they did not have their passports checked or their baggage screened by any authorities before being allowed to leave. One of the passengers said that the group “just followed” a gate agent upon arrival.
In a statement to Road Warrior Voices, American Airlines pointed to a logistical error as the reason for the incident:
“Some passengers on flight 1671 did not complete the immigration and customs process upon arrival when they were inadvertently directed to the domestic terminal. We are reviewing the matter with [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] to ensure three remaining U.S. citizens complete the process and to prevent this from happening in the future.”
The airline contacted all 13 passengers and directed them to return to the airport to complete customs. At the time of writing, 11 of those passengers had complied and returned to the airport. The remaining passengers are all U.S. citizens, according to U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
In an email to Road Warrior Voices, a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson blamed the incident on “airline error”:
“On Friday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection identified an infraction involving the processing of an American Airlines flight from Cancun, Mexico, that arrived at JFK Airport that same day. Due to an airline error, 13 of the 76 passengers inadvertently exited through a domestic gate before being processed by CBP.
CBP and JFK airline security personnel and the airport authority are conducting an investigation regarding the incident and will implement measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future.”
