American Airlines mistake allows Mexico passengers into U.S. without immigration check

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By Sky Industry News

Jul 10, 2024

A passenger on American Airlines flight 2213 from Los Cabos, Mexico to Dallas – Fort Worth reported that upon arrival, they were allowed to enter the terminal without undergoing the expected immigration and customs checks.

The flight AA2213 departed on time and arrived without incident. According to one passenger, "We exit the plane and walk straight out into D Terminal. I turned to my son and said this isn’t right but most of [first class] had continued onto their connections. We stick around because I knew this was wrong."

An American Airlines spokesperson stated, "On July 6, fewer than a quarter of the customers aboard American Airlines flight 2213 from San Jose del Cabo (SJD) to Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) inadvertently entered the terminal without clearing customs after arrival. These customers were quickly identified and cleared by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. We apologize to these customers for the inconvenience."

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The aircraft arrived at an international-capable gate, but it was not used correctly. Depending on which door is used, passengers are either directed into the terminal or led down a corridor to an immigration checkpoint.

Passengers with luggage would have noticed something amiss as they skipped customs along with the baggage claim area where their bags were sent.

Such incidents are not unprecedented. There have been previous instances where passengers arriving from international flights bypassed immigration checks at airports like JFK and DFW. For example, several years ago, American Airlines flights from Cancun to JFK faced similar issues where passengers entered the terminal without going through immigration.

In another case at New York JFK terminal 5, TSA once allowed several passengers into the terminal without screening them properly. Efforts to locate these passengers within the terminal via video footage proved largely unsuccessful.

Similar errors have occurred at Dallas – Fort Worth airport before as well as other locations such as Chicago’s Finnair flight incident where passengers exited without completing customs or immigration processes.

Questions remain regarding why U.S. citizens need to return for processing when authorities already possess detailed information about them through flight manifests and video surveillance.