Due to its isolation as the only country in the world that is also its own continent, Australia has some of the strictest import and customs rules in the world.
Stories of travelers getting stopped for accidentally bringing in everything from a dried fruit snack from a trip to Southeast Asia to a half-eaten Subway sandwich routinely catch the attention of social media — in the latter case, Australian model Jessica Lee was fined more than $1,800 for forgetting to declare a Subway sandwich she purchased in Singapore and didn't finish on the plane.
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The latest incident was sparked by the viral success of the recent "Barbie" movie about the iconic Mattel (MAT) -) doll. As first reported by flight website One Mile At A Time, travel Instagrammer Lays Laraya was traveling from Doha to Perth, Australia on Qatar Airways' A380 flight dressed like Barbie — her account regularly shows her traveling around the world in outfits inspired by different characters.
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Travel blogger describes how a single rose got her in trouble at Australian airport
Instagram pictures posted just before the flight took off show her sitting in a first-class seat in a long pink dress and blonde wig. The airline also gave her a glass of pink champagne and a single red rose to complete the look.
In Instagram Stories posted after the incident while still wearing the pink dress, Laraya described two men in civilian clothing approaching her and identifying themselves as customs officers. After asking to see her passport and phone, the officers reportedly escorted her to immigration and instructed her to fill out the landing card necessary of all travelers coming into the country.
Laraya said that she also asked whether she was profiled because of her pink outfit while the officers reportedly responded that they do not profile based on appearance. Just before stepping off the plane, the travel blogger had put up an Instagram story of the rose alongside a caption reading "Hello, Australia."
After going through x-rays and a bag inspection, Laraya was reportedly told that she had not declared the cut rose she was carrying in her hand. She was then accused of "knowingly producing a false or misleading document in compliance or purported compliance with the biosecurity act" and given a civil fine of $1,878 Australian dollars (roughly $1,154 USD).
'The rose? They returned it at the end of it all'
"You know the rose that breaks the biosecurity act and may threaten people's safety?" Laraya concluded in the Stories while pulling out the same rose. "They returned it at the end of it all. Their problem at the end of it all was not the rose but the false information."
Laraya told her followers that the rose was an honest mistake that she would not have even thought to bring in if she had not been handed one by Qatar Airways and has already written to Australia's director of biosecurity to appeal the fine.
Laraya's experience also prompted significant response on social media — one commenter pointed out that customs' suspicion of the rose and the outfit was particularly comical given that the star of the blockbuster Barbie movie, Margot Robbie, is Australian.
