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It's common to be asked to show your passport at the gate along with your boarding pass. Even though there was a 'docs check' when you checked in for the flight (and it's marked on your boarding pass) the airline wants to make sure you didn't unknowingly drop it in the toilet when you took a restroom stop on your way to the gate- international treaties say airlines can face large fines for passengers denied entry upon arrival.
While it's not like New Zealand, the US also has limits on food and other items you're allowed to bring back in the country (no fresh foods, certain novelty items like Kinder eggs an canned haggis are also banned) California agriculture is vulnerable enough you might see the Department of Agriculture inspection beagles in the LAX arrivals area.
I bought apples in Paris and still.had one in my bag when I arrived back at JFK. The customs agent snatched it.
Whole experience was great with no issues on my flights. All the advice here
certainly helped me . Glad I arrived extra early at RDU when flying out.
They had trouble with my check-in and had 4 people working on it.
Turned out that the problem was on the New Zealand end but it took an hour for them to
work it out.
Got to kayak, cave walk, glacier walk, see a Glow Worm cave, camp on the south beach and
much more.. Beautiful place..
Thanks again for advice that made things go smooth. The short layovers I was worried about
were enough time. In LA they gave me an "Express Connection" pass because of the short
layover and that put me in the shorter lines for immigration & customs.
Only thing I had to figure out was how to change airports in NZ for the last flight.
There was a shuttle but I had to ask around about where to find that shuttle.
In LA they gave me an "Express Connection" pass because of the short
layover and that put me in the shorter lines for immigration & customs.
Hah I've had that before! Got it last time we came in from Hong Kong and because of delay no way were we going to make our connection, wave little yellow placard around and get to preferential lines = good times. I asked the lady if it gave me authority to punch people in the face who got in our way walking the hallways or escalators, she said no. We ended up just fine since connecting flight ended up running two hours late too.
Glad you had a good time and thanks for reporting back in kelly237!
At LAX after immigration & customs & rechecking my bag I rounded a corner in a one lane type
area and an airport worker had left a huge cart of luggage blocking the hallway.
No way to get around it and as passengers piled up behind me everyone started yelling at me to
proceed. I had to keep yelling back that the bags in front of me were NOT my bags ..
Whole experience was great with no issues on my flights. All the advice here
certainly helped me . Glad I arrived extra early at RDU when flying out.
They had trouble with my check-in and had 4 people working on it.
Turned out that the problem was on the New Zealand end but it took an hour for them to
work it out.
Got to kayak, cave walk, glacier walk, see a Glow Worm cave, camp on the south beach and
much more.. Beautiful place..
Thanks again for advice that made things go smooth. The short layovers I was worried about
were enough time. In LA they gave me an "Express Connection" pass because of the short
layover and that put me in the shorter lines for immigration & customs.
Only thing I had to figure out was how to change airports in NZ for the last flight.
There was a shuttle but I had to ask around about where to find that shuttle.
That is why I always make sure I have at least 2 hr connection. They can sell you ticket with connection as tight as 50 minutes but that is too risky for me.
Did your ticket include the Departure Tax/Fee for leaving NZ?
I forgot about this once, and was lucky I had enough cash on me.
I'd love to hear that they don't even charge this anymore.
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