Why are they going through Customs on the way out of the country?
I don’t get that either.
I don’t recall having to complete a declaration form before boarding my flight to the UK last October or being asked about how much cash I was carrying by any US customs agents, but I do remember being given one (a declaration form) to complete mid-flight by the flight attendant, but then that was not for US customs but for getting through UK customs upon landing in Manchester.
Same with the return flight to the US, filling out a declaration form, but that was for getting through US customs in Philadelphia. I don’t recall having to go through US customs in order to board my outbound flight to the UK but I do recall, aside from showing my passport to the ticket agent who scanned it and my boarding pass being asked a few questions from someone with a British accent while in line at the ticket counter, who I presumed was from the airline or perhaps from UK customs but it wasn’t in a formal sort of way just simple questions such was I carrying any fruits, vegetables, undeclared items or dangerous items (I did have a collapsible umbrella in my purse and thought it best to mention it, and the Brit smiled and said, “Well that’s to be expected for where you are heading, not a problem - carry on and enjoy your stay”. : ) And then having to go through TSA to board my outbound flight which is always a nightmare.
FWIW, getting through UK security and customs was not difficult; while they were very thorough and no nonsense while still being polite, they were very efficient and things moved very quickly especially since I didn’t have to take my shoes off. I recall giving them my declaration form upon landing in the UK and the UK customs person asking me the reason for my trip (business, visiting my home company’s office for a meeting) and asking me how long I’d be staying (4 days) and then him asking me where is your home company’s office located, and I gave him the address (which was also on my form) and then him asking me the purpose of my meeting which was for UK Pension reform (which was also on my form), asking me what I was declaring, which was basically nothing to declare since I wasn’t traveling with any cash aside from about $20 US and only my company issued laptop, clothes, personal items for my own use, etc.; he asked me the questions and then look at my form, I presume to make sure my verbal answers matched what was on my form but then with a smile and a “Welcome to the UK, enjoy your stay”, I was quickly on my way.
Getting back in the US was OTOH a nightmare. My flight landed on time and I had a two hour layover to make a very short connecting flight from Philadelphia to Baltimore which I thought would be more than enough time. But getting through US customs was horrible. The lines were very long, the directions as to which line to get into, confusing, the US customs persons very rude and terse and while I was third in line getting through customs, without any notice or explanation the custom agent simply left her station leaving us already in the queue just standing there. When I and several others asked a passing US custom agent what was going on and if we needed to move to another line, she yelled at us and barked at us to stay in line. So we did, for about 25 minutes while others, some from our very same flight in other lines passed through. Oh and during my 25 minute wait I got my body and carryon bag sniffed by a bomb/drug sniffing dog and there is nothing like a dog putting his nose up your crotch after a 10 hour flight….I got through US customs, with my declaration form and answering some questions, being given what I might describe as the “stink eye”, I was then told to go through to baggage claim without even as much as the US custom agent making any eye contact with me or even a “Welcome back to the US”.
Then I rushed to the baggage claim area to claim my bag and then rushed to get into the TSA line. The line was ridiculously long and moved very, very slowly, and all the while I’m looking at my watch thinking, “I’m going to miss my connecting flight”…I finally got through TSA and pretty much ran to my gate which once I got there wasn’t a boarding gate but a ramp to the tarmac where I had to wait for a shuttle bus to take me to the far side of the airport. I finally got to the boarding gate and boarded my connecting flight (hoping that my checked bag also made it) with only minutes to spare, I was the very last person boarding and no sooner had I sat down and clicked my lap belt, we took off.