Havana Airport

After 40 years of travel, departing from Havana International Airport was my worst ever airport experience. The arrivals hall has only 2 female toilets for 100s of arrivals. The departure area has insufficient seats and grossly inadequate air conditioning. All the planes left late by at least an hour with no attempt to hurry things up. Our plane was 2 hours late leaving, which was of no concern to any airline staff. The departure gate was changed to B15 which is basically an unconditioned dungeon, with about 200 people stuffed into a small standing room only torture chamber and kept waiting there for 45 minutes with sweat pouring down faces.

✅ Verified Review | On arrival on 30th March there was no water in the washrooms to wash hands after using the toilets. On departure on 13th April there was no water in airport at all. I tried toilets in halls A and B and upstairs and none of them were flushing. The stench was making everyone feel sick as no lids on toilet seats. I had no choice but to use one toilet that was three quarters full. No water again to wash hands. We'd had a 2 hour journey up from Vandero and intended to get something to eat before we got on flight. As staff were using same toilets and unable to wash their hands too I ate a Twix and had a bottle of water. Wasn't prepared to eat anything that wasn't covered up. Will never travel to this airport again. I work hard to pay for my holidays and will only spend money in places that have decent "facilities". Terminal was clean but toilets are the worst I've seen in any country and I've been travelling for 40 years. Not much to buy airside so didn't bother.

✅ Verified Review | Not sure what people were expecting - but as a somewhat frequent traveler of airports in less developed parts of the world, I was actually pleasantly surprised by the Havana airport. Immigration was fast (as others mentioned). Our baggage arrived very quickly, while I saw other baggage claims surrounded by crowds and crowds of people. This makes me suspect it is an airline specific issue. We flew with Spirit, if that makes a difference. I had no issues with getting money (using the ATM), and was not at all harassed getting to the taxi line + into a clean, convenient cab. The arrivals lobby was a little cluttered but much, much better than many other developing nation airports I've traveled through in Central America / Asia.

On entering we got through immigration in about 5 minutes although we were some of the first ones off the plane. We then spent over an hour waiting for our bags to be delivered. We were lucky our bags were delivered quite early on when we left there was still about 200 people waiting for their bags and at the delivery rate of about 1 a minute some of them would clearly have a long wait. Not a great introduction to Cuba. Once through the baggage reclaim there is a small arrivals hall which is best described as chaotic. Leaving Cuba this airport we checked in quickly as we were travelling business class but there was a long queue for economy. We got through security reasonably quickly - could have been quicker if they'd used the other two gates that were manned but not being used. We arrived in the lounge not expecting much and we weren't disappointed.

✅ Verified Review | Well this airport is definitely not ready for the changes that are coming to Cuba, starting with a/c system, if you have been to Cuba you will know its hot and moving around a hot airport is just so unbearable. There are no auto check-in computers so lines are very very long, immigrations is not bad at all, they are fast and don't take very long. The problem is the security checks, since many airlines are entering Cuba if you are unlucky you might be stuck for at least 1 hour so go early. Plus side is that if you forgot to buy souvenirs or tobacco you can find them in many shops in the airport.

After arrival getting through customs takes forever with people being prioritised and pushed in front of certain queues slowing things down further. Once through your hand luggage is placed through a scanner again - Why? You might expect your cases to be ready after all this time, but no - expect at least another hour in a very hot confined space. Surely returning would be better. The luggage belt at check in was broken causing delays. My husband queued to change our money back to sterling while I queued in the never ending queue to get through passport control. They didn't have any sterling so he was told to try again in the departure lounge. There was the same situation going through passport control, with people getting pushed ahead of certain lines, nearly causing a riot. Once through my husband tried to change our currency again while I tried to get some food and water. Working in an airport café might not be the most interesting job in the world, but the miserable, rude service and poor quality food I received was appalling. We still couldn't get sterling and had to opt for Euros. I don't think I will return to Cuba any time soon. Also there was no water in the men's toilet to wash hands

We arrived from an international flight and a domestic flight and had a departure at Jose Martí Airport in Havana. All our experiences were not very good. If you are in a hurry, forget it. For arriving passengers, it takes well over an hour to get your bags. The arrival areas are dismal looking with no seating. For departures the terminal is better looking than for arrivals, however the notices for check-in are unclear to non-existent. Don't bother to ask anyone for information, as they don't know.

On arrival immigration can be a nightmare but just try to make it part of the experience. Facilities modern lots of red paint but good enough. Check in was very good but I was travelling Business class KLM. Immigration very easy not like when arriving. Main Terminal 3 has a few shops with the tourist stuff to buy if you want it and a couple of places to buy drink and food. KLM/AF lounge basic small but quiet. All very positive but try to be patient is the best advice along with going early to check in.

Arrived to a plain airport with a predominant colour of red everywhere and a warm friendly welcome from staff. The luggage belt (the biggest we had ever seen) was a bit chaotic but my partner and I were expecting this so shrugged it off. Customs were fine arrivals hall was pure chaos but again we laughed it off as being part of the experience. Given the social and political status of this country we were not expecting too much but were surprised at what we did find. However there was more choice landside than airside but then again was not expecting a shopping mall! To avoid chaos at tax payment (to leave Cuba) and the immigration exit (staff on all sectors were very pleasant by the way) we would recommend arriving as early as you can. The departure lounge was air conditioned and although small in some respects seemed quite spacious in a way. No long walks to the departure gates either although some confusion here really; boarding pass dictated B9 the plane was sitting at B9 but the main screen stated B11 as did the screen above B11. The staff had it all under control though and we boarded in very quickly indeed. Please note: Just to be aware that on both land and air sides keep loose change (in peso/cents) for the people on entrance to the toilets - well the men's anyway (otherwise no paper to dry your hands).

Leave yourself plenty of time to check in and pay your airport tax when leaving from Havana. My main gripe is that my husband and I both bought bottles of rum at the duty free shop but then had it all confiscated when we changed planes at Madrid even though we had paid for sealed duty free bags. We were told that it was because there was no 'ticket' in the bag. The bags were sealed before we had even paid for the rum so there was no chance to put the receipt inside assuming that is the ticket they were referring to. I think everyone on our flight lost their bottles at Madrid so it might be better to either buy bottles and put it in your luggage or play safe and not bother.