Cuba Copies the Eritrean Model of Closed Airports

Cuba Copies the Eritrean Model of Closed Airports
July 31, 2014
Fernando Ravsberg*

HAVANA TIMES — The Jose Marti airport administrator told Granma
newspaper that there are many other airport terminals in the world where
entry is forbidden to persons accompanying a passenger, but did not name
any of them.

A reader of this blog agrees: "There is at least one other airport that
shares this rare privilege, that of Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. The
difference there is that in front is a restaurant where you can hang out
and entertain yourself while saying goodbye or waiting for a passenger."

I'm not an expert on the subject but I guess that Eritreans must be
considered a top authority on airport administration. Otherwise Cuba
would not have decided to copy their practices and restrictions.

Copying is not shameful but copying wrong, putting the cart before the
horse, is a pain. The managers of the Havana Airport applied the
prohibition of entry first and left the opening of a restaurant for an
uncertain future.

Meanwhile, while they plan the construction of a space in front of the
airport terminal, those sending off relatives or friends have to say
goodbye in the middle of the street or wait for incoming passengers in
the same place. Something that, as we see, does not even occur in Eritrea.

They say that the restriction "is about providing better service and
attention to those arriving or leaving Cuba, as required when they pay
for a ticket. Do not forget that the airport is the first impression
that many tourists will have of the country."

However, after restricting entry into the airport building the chief
complaint of passengers has not changed, as they often have to wait for
2 to 3 hours for their bags to come out. One wonders if such delays are
within "the recommended international standards" mentioned in Granma?

Apparently the delays within the airport are not very important to the
airport administrators because it's been going on for many years.
However, they do take radical measures to eject their fellow citizens
from the facilities.

They should realize that because of their own administrative
inefficiency, the family or friends that greet visitors has to wait
those same three hours in the street without a place to sit, get a glass
of water, or without even a bathroom.

"Do not forget that the airport is the first impression that many
tourists will have of the country", they remind us and almost make us
feel guilty of the bad image of Cuba visitors would have if they see us
drinking a coffee inside the terminal.

Actually the bad impression to the traveler happens when suitcases don't
appear for hours; when they unload the baggage from the same flight on
two different carousels; when no one can find a baggage cart; and when
the baggage assistants offer to get you out of there "quickly" for
money, and nobody can explain what's happening.

Then the bad impression increases upon setting foot on the street. After
hours of a grueling wait you find hundreds of sweaty and tired people,
bunched together behind a fence like cattle, who must urinate in the
parking lot for a lack of a better place.

This situation also affects the image that the Cubans themselves have of
their country and themselves. Many wonder how they can be treated that
way by public officials when they themselves pay their wages.

The intellectual Esteban Morales went to all corners of the airport
looking for an explanation without success. He concluded that it
"appears to be a bad joke or the whim of some bureaucrat, who came up
with such a solution?"

A renowned filmmaker told me that "After two hours of waiting, my wife
and I entered the building without permission. After going to the
bathroom in shifts, we sat down at the table of one of the cafeterias
(she ordered a bottle of water and I a beer). "

He added: "An airport employee came over and told us we had to wait
outside. I responded that the waiting rooms of airports are public
places – and told the comrade that only by force could he make us leave.
Of course we stayed. "

Source: Cuba Copies the Eritrean Model of Closed Airports - Havana
Times.org - http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=105244