Havana Airport

Our flight from London Gatwick arrived at the International terminal. The arrivals hall was full. As a result it took us 2/5 hours to clear passport control. The hall was stuffy and hot. Officials were shouting at passengers to keep behind the line and the passport controllers kept leaving their desks presumably for a rest break! Having finally cleared that lot we found that some of our luggage had still not found its way to the conveyor belt. The total time to clear arrivals formalities was 3 hours which we endured after a 10 hour flight. Never again. Havana airport is dreadful and should be avoided. The Cuban authorities need tourism desperately but they don't deserve our business.

We arrived at this airport on 17/2/2014 and had to wait for 1.5 hours at immigration then a further half an hour for our cases to arrive as the conveyor belt broke. Worst airport I have ever been to with total chaos and surly staff. On departure on 27/02/2014 we had to queue for 2.5 hours to check in as again the conveyor belts kept breaking. Then we had to queue again to pay the airport tax and go through security. Total nightmare. We did not even have time to buy a drink of water to take on the plane and by the time they got everyone checked in the flight ended up leaving 1.25 hours late. Cannot comment on facilities at airport as we didn't have time to use them. Would never visit Cuba again for this reason.

We have just returned from another visit to Havana after loving the place when we visited in Feb 13. The airport experience was much worse this time than last time. The taxi driver dropped us off at the wrong terminal but it was ok as we were still able to get to the correct terminal (3) prior to check in time. Check in opened and it took us around 1.5 hours to check in and we were about a 3rd of the way in to the queue so you can imagine how long it was for the people at the back! Luckily through previous experience we knew we had to check in prior to queuing to pay tax as otherwise that can waste your time! We queued for about 15 mins to pay tax then about 15min to change cash as we cannot change CUC back to sterling here. The woman at the change counter only had £20 in sterling so we had to have the rest in euros. Then to join the unmoving sea of people trying to get through immigration - there was 5 flights I think going during the same couple of hours and there was people being called for flights who were still stuck trying to get through immigration! It was crazy just standing there watching booths closing for the night whilst 100's of people needed to get through to the other side! The immigration people just seem to do each person in very slow motion - you can't spend 5 minutes per person when there are 5 large airplanes full of people to get through! It got to 20.50pm and our flight was due to start boarding at 21.15! My partner pointed out to me that there was still people on our flight queuing up at check in! The service in the duty free shop was beyond a joke and people panicking about missing flights ended up yelling at the guy on the till to stop chatting to his workmate and get serving people quickly - it was the only place we could get snacks and water to take on the plane as the food and service on the plane was absolutely dire. Needless to say the flight was delayed by 30 minutes purely down to people having such problems getting through check in and immigration! I am not in a hurry to use this airport again!

I just came through this airport (Terminal 3) twice in the last week or so and it was OK. Receiving luggage upon arrival was very slow but it did finally arrive. I heard later that they X-ray every single piece of luggage coming through. Customs and immigration coming in went surprisingly quick. I was very pleased with that. The food court is very expensive and has few selections. Expect flight delays and be patient. I have been traveling internationally for 40 years since I was a child and Jose Marti Airport was consistent with what you can expect in a third world country. Don't forget that on departure you must pay a 25 CUC departure tax! It also must be paid in cash.

There are cash machines at foreign exchange desks at arrivals and departures. They accept Visa cards but not Mastercard. You will be charged a 11 percent commission plus your own bank's handling charges but it may save you queuing for 1 plus hours. I was also conned by the lady at the foreign exchange desk she gave me 3 Peso MN in exchange for 3 CUC. She should have given me 72 Peso MN. I would advise contacting airline on the day of departure to check flight times. You do not want to spend more time in this airport than necessary. So many smokers and poor facilities makes it unpleasant. I know of 2 different parties who contracted serious illness as a result of eating the food here. The beer is more expensive than at the bar at the Nacional Hotel. Duty free does not represent much of a saving but has a good selection the ground coffee is more expensive for example.

Havana Airport is small functional (but can be very slow) and little else. Arrivals (luggage delays aside) is ok getting out is a different story. At first it seems that check in etc is quite quick then you pay your 25cuc airport tax and then move to immigration. This can take hours staff disappear at a moments notice and its anybody's guess how long before they return time and time again this happened even when my passport/visa was being checked. As far as food/drink etc drinks are fine but food is poor and very expensive. Although it claims to be 24hr there is nothing open after 11pm (approx) so if you're delayed stock up. If you have problems with your flight being delayed etc. Dont expect any help you'll have to explain the same thing over and over again better off contacting the airline in your home country. Its worth noting that they have cardphones in the airport but nobody sells the cards there - I checked everywhere. So have a card on hand there are coin phones but pesos only and its very difficult to phone international. Also there is no internet access until after you go through check in/immigration (no wireless either). Basically : Get there 4hrs early double check the queues for check in have your visa immigration forms and 25cuc on hand and get a phone card before going to the airport just in case.

Seems that leaving Cuba is harder than getting' in! When you land immigration doesn't ask anything but when you leave they want to see all your bags etc. As I've got an old Brazilian passport they even searched it carefully and asked if I were really Brazilian and not Cuban?! Check in agents are slow - food is overpriced and bad this airport is a nightmare!

Three terminals at Havana airport keep travellers well separated into categories. Terminal 3 is for foreign tourism. It is modern clean and fairly efficient. The reviews in this page are referred to this terminal. Terminal 2 is for Cuban exiles visiting the island. It is small generally overcrowded not particularly clean (specially the restrooms) and even a bit chaotic. Lots of custom and immigration officers everywhere. Terminal one is for nationals. No words for this one.

Long queues at Immigration checking the Visa forms but baggage was waiting. The UK Departure lounge is a big shed with short direct access to aircraft. Had booked in online to Virgin Atlantic flight from our hotel so very little wait at the Bag-Drop desk. Plenty seating Clean Toilets Good duty free & snacks & drinks to spend your last Cuban Pesos.

Jose Marti International Airport has at least five terminals despite what you may read in this website and in other media. One terminal a decade old in 2008 built with Canadian expertise deals with most long haul internatiional flights and one with mainly with internal flights. there are also separate terminals for charter flights from the USA (UK citizens not permitted) and flights from other Caribbean destinations. Please ensure that you know the terminal before booking your taxi to the airport. Immigration can be delayed if several flights arrive simultaneously and procedures are thorough. The CADECA money changing desk has now closed in the baggage reclaim hall (March 2008) but several are available once you enter the main terminal concourse. Duty free shopping has quite a wide choice of Cuban specialities eg rum and cigars at excellent prices.