http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/International-Passengers-JFK-Exit-Customs/2016/01/25/id/710729/Newsmax
Passengers at JFK Airport Allowed to Exit Without Going Through Customs
Monday, January 25, 2016 09:01 AM
By: Cathy Burke
Passengers on an international flight from Mexico were reportedly allowed to leave John F. Kennedy Airport without going through customs — at the least second security slip-up in three months.
According to the New York Daily News, fliers landing at JFK on American Airlines Flight 1223 from Cancun on Jan. 18 sailed through without having either their passports or bags checked.
A similar incident involving another American Airlines flight occurred at the airport in November, the newspaper reports.
"It's absolutely absurd," one passenger tells the newspaper. "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."
He added that even a Transportation Security Administration agent seemed unconcerned.
"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.'"
But according to the Daily News, hours after the plane landed, airlines officials pleaded with passengers to return 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, the Daily News reports.
The airlines tells the newspaper the lapse was inadvertent.
"We take the safety and security of our customers, employees and operation very seriously," the statement said. "Some passengers on flight 1223 did not complete immigration and customs process upon arrival when they were inadvertently directed to the domestic terminal."
