Passengers Bypass Immigrations and Customs After Plane Arrives at Wrong JFK Terminal

Passengers on an international flight, which landed in New York's JFK airport, were able to bypass immigration after their plane arrived at the wrong terminal.

Passengers on the Delta Air Lines flight 3 from Heathrow, London were let out into a domestic baggage claim section of the airport, instead of customs and immigration, where they didn't have to deal with any checks. The only time they were stopped was when airport employees realized they weren't where they were supposed to be.

Andrew Rostron was one of the passengers on the plane who spoke to CBS about the incident. He said the plane wasn't full and maybe had 54 people on it:

"When we arrived at JFK, we pulled up to the gate and the door opened. We got off and walk off the jet bridge," Rostron told CBS. "We didn't really think about it, but we were basically in the main part of the terminal where the passengers were preparing to board. We kept walking past shops and duty free and restaurants and then we realized it was a bit strange. We just kept going. Terminal 4 at JFK is pretty big so you just go and go," continuing with, "The only place to go to eventually was domestic baggage, so we went to the baggage counter and we explained what happened, and they just asked us 'Why are you here?' It was just weird, very unusual." He stated, "I could have just left the airport and kept going, no question about it. I was practically out the front door of the airport but realized I have to go get my bag. If you didn't have checked luggage you could have just left, got in a cab and been gone. They had no idea."

Rostron also said officials eventually rounded up the passengers and escorted them to the immigration check so security officials could take their names.
Delta told CBS that a small number of passengers got away without going through the screening. "Delta is working with the Port Authority as well as Customs and Border Protection, and is looking into the matter. Customer security is of vital importance and Delta makes every effort to follow appropriate procedures," Delta said.