A group of about 80 Cubans who intended to fly to Nicaragua were stranded this Sunday night at the José Martí International Airport in Havana, when they were prevented from boarding flight VB-317 operated by Viva Aerobus bound for Cancun, where they were doing a technical scale before continuing towards Managua.
“It was last night, on Viva flight 317, Havana-Cancún, which was supposed to leave at 10:35 at night and left very close to 12 am. All those personnel check and we only boarded those of us who were going directly to Cancun,” he confirmed to 14ymedio José Enrique Castellano, one of the travelers whose final destination was Mexico.
The complaint came to light this Monday through a video echoed by the journalist javier diaz, from Univision 23, in which one of the stranded tells that they have spent several hours in the air terminal without attention from the airline and without receiving an official response about what happened. Among the travelers there are small children and residents of numerous provinces of the country, Santiago de Cuba, Las Tunas, Camagüey, Ciego de Ávila, Villa Clara, Sancti Spíritus, Havana and Pinar del Río.
“It’s not Viva Aerobus, it’s ‘death’ Aerobus,” said the man as he showed dozens of Cubans sitting and lying inside Terminal 3 of the José Martí with exhausted faces. “This is Cuba, we Cubans are here, look, little children, without breakfast, without eating, without water, without a snack… We’ve been sleeping here since last night, on those benches, on the floor.”
After performing the check in, Passing Immigration and Customs, already at the airport border, and after beginning the boarding of the flight, was the incident. “There, 150 meters from the plane, they set up Cancun and when we thought we were going to board, they told us: ‘You are not going to fly,'” the Cuban recounted.
“That’s why we are here, Nicaragua did not accept that the plane entered and now, nothing happened, the Cubans lying here”
The airport authorities held the travel agencies responsible, commented that passenger, but “the fault lies with the airline because we checked the ticket, that is, it was the famous list that must be sent to Nicaragua so that people can enter, that they did not send it”, he assures (before taking off, the companies have the obligation to send the list of passengers to the country of destination). “And that’s why we are here, Nicaragua did not accept that the plane entered and now, nothing happened, the Cubans lying here,” he added.
It was at the beginning of last February when several travel agencies that operate between Mexico and the US announced the return of Viva Aerobus with connections between Havana and Managua and prices much lower than those of 2022. On this occasion, the tickets go from 799 to 1,200 dollars depending on the number of suitcases with which the passenger flies. The first connection was scheduled for the 12th.
Previously, this same ticket between Cuba and Nicaragua was close to 4,000 dollars and the Mexican airline had connections from various provinces of the country, including Santiago de Cuba, Camagüey and Villa Clara. These flights generally went to the island with very few passengers and left the country full to Cancun before continuing on to Managua.
On April 8, 2022, the Mexican airline decided to suspend these trips without giving explanations. “Once again we told you that the agency, the company charterer and the airline are oblivious to this decision that affects everyone and we ask for your understanding on this issue,” the Mexico-based agency Vagamundos clarified at the time, without specifying whether the result was due to an agreement between the Cuban government and the administration of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Days before, the governments of Cuba and Mexico had concluded the fifteenth round of talks on the immigration issue where both parties promised to “guarantee a regular, orderly and safe flow of travelers.” The meeting took place prior to the visit in May 2022 of the Mexican president, López Obrador, to the Island.
The return of the Havana-Managua route in 2023 occurs shortly after the immigration brake on Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans imposed by the Biden Administration with implementation of the parole humanitarian law and the expulsion to Mexico of all migrants of these nationalities who attempt to cross the southern border of the United States illegally.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio He is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for accompanying us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our newspaper. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
