There’s Cuba and then there is Hell, I’m talking about airports. June 11, 2011. Chapter I.

We were scheduled for a flight from NYC, JFK airport to Havana, Cuba for 3:30 pm on June 11. We are advised to arrive at JFK at 11.30 am. That seems like a lot of time but why question the advice? We get to JFK at 11:30 am and there are already a lot of people in line waiting to be checked in. And, they are loaded with baggage. Here’s the deal:

I last went to Cuba in 2005. I flew to Miami and than connected to one of the few planes that were authorized to fly into Havana. At that time travel was severely restricted and bringing goods into Cuba was not the thing to do. During the Bush years, family could only travel to Cuba once every three years. Obama has eased that and family can travel there once a year or more. Also, they can bring in goods for their family.

So we get to JFK and stand in the checkout line. The charter operators draw us aside and supply us with our travel documents. They verify that our visas will be waiting for us in Havana. We’re good to go. But they also inform us that the plane has been held up due to bad weather and instead of departing at 3:30 pm it will depart at 8:30 pm. Also, we find out, which was unbeknownst to us ahead of time, that we would be charged a $130 departure tax each, a $60 charge for each checked bag and a $30 charge for each carry-on bag. We each had one checked bag and one carry on bag. With the departure tax that came to $440 cash (credit cards not accepted). That drained our cash. So, because of the delay we decided to go back to the city. (a $60 cab ride each way, but hey, we needed cash).

We had a nice lunch at a local restaurant and took a nap. Life is good, right? At 5:30 we took a cab back to JFK to make the 8:30 flight.

We arrive back at the gate to find out that the plane has not yet arrived. We wait. And we wait. At about 11:30 the plane arrives. Still we wait. At about the 1:00 am the crew departs the plane and advises us that the captain has cancelled the flight. He tells us that FAA regulations require that he get 8 hours sleep and that he will be back around 9:00 am and the plane will depart sometime around 11:00 am. Let me tell you, people are pissed. Some of these people have been planning this trip for a long time. They have rental cars waiting for them in Havana at $125/day. They really can’t afford this delay and are almost out of their minds. I thought there might be a second Cuban revolution. The crew just blows past us and leaves for their hotel.

Meanwhile, we are left to fend for ourselves. What happens is that we spend the night in the most uncomfortable chairs imaginable at JFK airport. 30, 60, or 120 minutes of sleep are a blessing. Come 9:30 am and there is no sign that the there is any progress in getting this plane airborne to Cuba. At about 2:30 pm the flight crew arrives. The plane gets boarded and take off at about 4:00 pm, more than 24 hour after it was suppose to leave. We have lost a whole day. We do make it to Havana but it is after dark. Fortunately, our contacts in Havana have monitored the situation, have suffered a lot of sleeplessness and are there to greet us and take us to our hotel.