From sweets to saris, bizarre list of items banned at Australian airports; Navya Nair fined for carrying jasmine flowers
Navya Nair, a Malayalam actress with over two decades in the industry, was fined 1980 AUD at Melbourne Airport for carrying jasmine flowers, violating Australian biosecurity laws. She later shared a humorous video about the incident while attending Onam celebrations.
Recently, Malayalam actress Navya Nair had to pay a huge fine of 1980 Australian dollars (approximately ₹1.14 lakh) at the Melbourne International Airport for carrying flowers.
The incident took place when the actress arrived in Melbourne to participate in the Onam celebrations organised by the Malayali Association of Victoria.
On her arrival, Melbourne Airport authorities discovered around 15 centimetres of jasmine flowers in her bag. Under Australian biosecurity and customs laws, the import of fresh flowers and plant materials is strictly prohibited.
Since violations can pose serious threats to the country's agriculture and environment, the Australian Department of Agriculture fined Navya Nair 80 Australian dollars.
Following the incident, Navya shared a light-hearted video on social media, turning the fine into a moment of self-mockery.
In the video, she is seen at the Melbourne Airport eating food, boarding the flight, shopping, and walking around gracefully in a traditional Kerala sari, adorned with jasmine flowers in her hair.
The video is captioned: “Visuals just before I was fined.”
Navya has been active in the entertainment industry for over two decades. She made her debut in 2001 with Ishtam and went on to gain recognition through films such as Mazhathullikkilukkam and Kunjikkoonan.
Items banned at Australia’s international airports
Under the Australian biosecurity and customs laws, a long list of items that are banned runs across 100 categories, with various subsections.
In the "festivals" section, subheadings include such as Diwali, Lohri, and Rakhi.
A look at some of the items that travellers cannot carry inside Australia:
-Fresh fruit and vegetables
-Herbs, spices, raw nuts, seeds
-Fresh or dried flowers
-Dairy products
-Indian sweets such as Burfi, Ras Malai, Rasgulla, Pedas, Gulab Jamun, Mysore Pak and Soan Papdi
-Rice
-Tea
-Homemade food
-Honey and beeswax
-Pet food
-Feathers, bones, skins
-Traditional medicines made with plant/animal material
-Food from a plane or ship
-Items that are made from feathers, such as down jackets, sleeping bags, pillows and quilts, need to be declared by the travellers.