Madrid/The facilities of the Santiago de Cuba airport will be remodeled between 2026 and 2027 to double their capacity, according to told his Facebook account The Minister of Transportation, Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila. The remodeling does not affect, according to the advance, the clues, one of the black points of the airports of the island, in the opinion of the official himself, who in the session last July in Parliament presented a balance of the situation.
“The scope of remodeling includes a comprehensive reconfiguration of the spaces. On the ground floor will be the halls of passenger arrivals, both international and national, with independent flows. And the processes of reception and delivery of luggage will be expedited,” the minister wrote this Thursday.
As for the upper floor, he added, will be dedicated in full to the outputs with access – through mechanical stairs and elevators – that comply with the current accessibility regulations. “In addition to this spatial redistribution, the project contemplates important improvements in the equipment, such as the assembly of new luggage conveyor tapes (mats), the installation of modern immigration control cabins and the update of the air conditioning system,” he added.
The remodeling does not affect, according to the advance, the clues, one of the black points of the island’s airports
Rodríguez Dávila made it clear that the works will not alter the functioning of the airfield, although he did apologize in advance for the inconvenience they may cause to travelers and promised that measures will be taken to minimize them. The minister said that the objective of the investment, of which no figures have been facilitated, is to substantially raise the comfort of the halls and improve the quality of the services offered to passengers, airlines and the general public.
“As an important air connection of the Cuban East, this airport plays a vital role for the economic, tourist and social development of the region, by serving as an essential link for visitors who reach this cradle of national culture and for the connectivity of the Santiagueros with the rest of Cuba and the world,” he added.
The news has been celebrated by several users, although it was expected criticisms such as that of a commentator who analyzed whether at the present time is the most necessary work. “If we barely have airplanes, if we barely have tourism, how to continue investing in a building, which with the size it has faced the highest tourism peaks that have existed in Cuba and operating more airlines than those that operate today? Unnecessary expenses should be done in basic needs of our people,” he asked, admitting that the air conditioning is needed to improve in the terminal.
“You as a minister, with the power you have, could not make a donation of the money that will be used in ‘remodel’ and ‘enlarge’ the Santiago de Cuba airport for public health?” “I think that airport investment could wait, total or tourism,” adds the user, which regrets that there are no high -tech medical equipment and, those there, denote a bad technical condition.
Another, however, reproached him to consider that air transport only benefits foreigners. “Are airports need only tourism? We need many things, investment in many things, and public health is one of those many but, in the conditions we are going through, this ministry is doing a lot,” he discusses.
The conditions of Antonio Maceo Grajales airport did it, clearly, worthy of an improvement
The conditions of Antonio Maceo Grajales airport did it, clearly, worthy of an improvement. Its very large size, the few luggage and migration control points, the lack of air conditioning and the ancient facilities did not contribute to the comfort of national travelers, often forced to spend long hours in the airfield due to the infinite delays of the airlines, or of the internationals, for those who were not the best image of the island for too many years.
“Just the simple fact of saying that when it rains they have to cover the equipment with nylon and put the plastic trays that customs use in the checks to collect the water that falls,” Point out a worker of the airport in the account of Cuban aviation.
The panorama is similar to that of most airports in the country, except for that of Havana, which was reformed and expanded last year. In a report presented to the National Assembly this July was included interviews conducted to more than 400 people, which indicated as the worst failures the water supply and poor hygiene in the bathrooms, with inputs such as soap or the toilet paper in foul. In addition, many regretted the neglect of workers, unable to meet the needs of passengers or solve the possible problems that occurred.
The minister then spoke of the importance of modernizing them, in addition to an “urgent” repair of the tracks, which in this case is not among the mentioned improvements.
