Question by CliffS: When departing Hawaii for Alaska, can you bring home plants and fruits in your luggage?
I understand that there are restrictions for bringing plants and fruit to the mainland, but what about direct flights to Alaska? Alaska doesn’t have a multi-million dollar agricultural industry to protect, nor is it likely these pests will survive in this cold climate.
Best answer:
Answer by Patriotgal
No, you can’t do it. I had an apple in my luggage for a snack on the airplane and they picked it up on the scanner and made me get rid of it. The reason for this is there is a big fruit fly infestation problem in Hawaii. They can’t control it. They are trying to keep it from spreading beyond Hawaii. Yes, even in Alaska, you have fruit flies.
Attached below is an article about the fruit fly infestation and the measures to try to control it. Here’s an excerpt from the article:
“Because Hawaii has been infested since the late 1800s by a variety of exotic fruit flies, including medfly, melon fly, oriental fruit fly, and Malaysian fruit fly, the islands are an ideal location for developing and testing control methods. There is no chance of further spread and there are lots of fruit flies to control.”
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