Woman Fined $500 at MSP Airport Over an Apple

A woman traveling home to Colorado from Paris faces a $500 fine after saving a free apple she received from an airline. 

According to Fox 31 Denver, Crystal Tadlock and other passengers were handed apples in plastic bags toward the end of their Delta flight from Paris to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. She didn't plan on eating it right then and there, so she saved it. 

But U.S. Customs and Border Patrol didn't like that. 

During a random search, they discovered the apple in Tadlock's bag. Instead of allowing her to either trow it away or eat it, the agent gave her a $500 fine. 

Tadlock believes Delta should not have passed out fruit on the plane, or that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol should have realized it was an apple from Delta because the plastic bag had their logo on it. 

A Delta spokesman told Fox 31 Denver, "We encourage our customers to follow U.S. Customs and Border Protection protocols." 

In a statement, U.S. Customs and Border Control said all agriculture items must be declared. 

Tadlock is choosing to fight the ticket in court. 

Photo: Getty Images/Erik Witsoe, EyeEm


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