Well folks, it looks like the dreaded experience over at the St. Thomas Airport has potentially just gotten a little worse. Travelers will now have to pass through agriculture prior to boarding. This added step now means that travelers with checked bags have five stops to make before entering the terminal. Travelers with carry on bags now have three stops.
For those of you who’ve traveled from Puerto Rico to the United States, you probably recall having to put all of your bags – luggage and carry ons (backpacks, computer bags, etc.) – on a belt to pass through the agriculture machine. This has been happening at the St. Thomas Airport for about a week, and, according to the Customs agent I spoke with Wednesday, this will continue from here on out.
There’s a thing called APHIS (the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) that prohibits the movement of agriculture products from the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to the United States. What they are most concerned about is mostly fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as certain plants such as flowers. This is because these items can potentially bring an invasive pest or disease to the United States.
What Leaving the St. Thomas Airport Now Looks Like
Checked Bags
- For those of you who are checking bags, your first stop is the airport counter. They will tag your bag, but they will not take it.
- Next you will go through Customs. They will ask you a few questions like if you are bringing any food, where you are going, where you stayed, etc. Families can go up together.
- You will then pass through Agriculture. You simply place your bags (all of them) on a belt and retrieve them on the other side.
- You will drop your bag at the bag drop area.
- You will go through security.
Carry On Bags Only
- You will start at Customs. They will ask you a few questions like if you are bringing any food, where you are going, where you stayed, etc. Families can go up together.
- You will then pass through Agriculture. You simply place your bags (all of them) on a belt and retrieve them on the other side.
- You will go through security.
Helpful Things to Know
You can use Global Entry at the St. Thomas airport, although you need to physically have your card with you when you do so. Global Entry is only good for the card holder. You cannot bring anyone along with you. The lane for Global Entry is the far right after you pass through the glass doors when entering the Customs area.
The St. Thomas airport does have precheck. The precheck lane is on the far right after agriculture.
If you are checking a bag, the cutoff time is 90 minutes. After that, they will not allow you to check your bag.
When they tell you to arrive three hours before your scheduled departure, they kind of mean it. The lines can be very long during season, and especially on Saturdays. I try to avoid Saturday travel at all costs. Just my two cents.
That’s it for today everyone. I’ve been looking ahead to winter airfare prices, and it’s looking pretty good! I’ll have more on that soon.
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