I was heading home after more than 12 months abroad. I was sitting at Pearsons International Airport in Toronto, Canada, ready for my long journey home to Sydney. The flights would take me from Toronto, Vancouver, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Melbourne, and then home to Sydney. I called it the big fish hook and almost 36+ hours of travelling.
I'd cleared airport security at Persons International Airport with my passport in hand and proceeded to my boarding Gate. It had been an exciting journey over the past twelve months, and I reflected on my trip by looking at the stamps in my passport. Feet up and a few smiles at the memories, I flicked through the passport and came across a folded white paper form stapled to one of the pages. I opened the page and found that it was part of the US immigration arrival. Thinking nothing of it, I glanced at the bottom of the form and, to my surprise, read in bold letters, "This form MUST be presented to US immigration on departure. Failure to do so may delay or restrict your future entry into the US". Here's the thing: leaving Canada, I had no opportunity to present anything to US Immigration. I quickly stood up in a panic and asked for information on how I could get this form to US immigration or customs before my flight. The advice was simple: walk down that long corridor, turn left, go through the doors, and US Immigration would be just on my left-hand side. I thought I would have plenty of time.
I followed the advice and quickly headed down the corridor, which was approximately 50 metres long. The corridor was very sterile, with no doors or windows, just floor and walls, and no signs. There was an L-shaped end; there was no other way to go, and there was another 20 metres. In the end, there were just 2 basic doors with push-bar handles, just like a cinema exit or one-way locking doors.
I pushed on the door; I was a bit apprehensive I'd gone the wrong way. On the other side? The hustle and bustle of hundreds of passengers back and forth and shops galore. I was back in the terminal before Customs and security clearance. The outer doors had no handles to enter, only the push bar exit. I thought maybe if I left a shoe or something to keep it open, I could then return back to my gate easily after I returned the form. Trying to keep it propped open, it slips and locks behind me. Damn it.
I walked a few metres and found US Immigration. I told them I'd be leaving but not via the US. No problems. The woman in immigration simply collected the form and threw it into a pile with a heap of others. That was easy. I asked where I needed to go to get back to my gate and, without any emotion, just pointed.
Then, as I was walking down, I noticed I needed to go through security again. As I approached, two of the male officers noticed me and called me aside. Didn't you just clear security all ready? they said. I told them my story and the need to return the US Immigration form. They then put me through the X-ray scanners again and waved the wand over me before letting me go.
I would return to the very same seat about 10-15 minutes before boarding, just contemplating what had just happened and how easy it would have been to hold that door open to anyone. Because of the building's L-shaped structure, it was so out of sight. I could have seriously brought a bunch of people through and rolled trollies through the door right up to the departure gate. Incredible, really.
I've never forgotten how easy it would have been, and I'm sure this oversight would have been reviewed after 9/11.
It's clearly a completely different world now since 911. Read how I was invited into the cockpit of a Boeing 757 on a flight from the UK to Canada as we flew over the ice caps of Greenland HERE. It was an incredible experience. Sadly, I can't see it being offered to anyone now.
About the Author
The author of this blog, unless otherwise noted, has no affiliation with any property or business linked in this article. Unless otherwise noted, there is no free accommodation or payment from any businesses. The information contained in this blog is strictly the views of the author and not professional advice. The author of this BookDirect blog is a travel and tourism professional with over 30 years of experience in international hotel management, global travel, short-term rental management and a tourism awards judge specialising in accommodation and attractions.
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