CUBA: Tourism Boom Not Supported By Facilities

Cuba is an attractive destination for British travellers as airlines launch new routes and cruise tourism surges. But as the boom continues, confusion has taken hold over whether Britons are able to board the new direct US-Cuba flights.

Passengers flying to the Caribbean island from the UK with Virgin Atlantic (VA) have also experienced difficulties as the airline gets to grips with the ticketing system alongside its new partner, Delta.

Customers have been unable to book flights online by card, or use Air Miles plus money, and they must, instead, call a Cuba phoneline at Virgin Holidays. Miles then need to be converted into vouchers to be discounted against a normal fare.

VA said the issue was temporary, but Rob Miller, director of the UK-based Cuba Solidarity Campaign, accused the airline of discriminating against the communist nation. “Virgin Atlantic must end this discriminatory policy impacting on travellers wanting to use their Air Miles to travel to Cuba,” he said. “The US blockade is at the heart of this latest travel dispute.

“We have written to the British Government, and Virgin Atlantic, calling on them to take immediate action to ensure that all passengers are treated fairly whether they are travelling to Cuba or elsewhere.”

A VA spokesperson apologised for any inconvenience: “This is just a different way to pay for this route, on a temporary basis. We certainly aren’t discriminating against Cuba. However, our technology is currently restricted, meaning we can’t take bookings.”

The airline launches its second UK route direct to Cuba on April 2, to Juan G Gomez airport. Thomson, too, is adding a route to Cayo Santa Maria from May; Thomas Cook’s inclusion of the small set of islands off the coast from 2018, takes its total of Cuban destinations to four.

Last year, 10 US airlines made the first direct flights to the island in more than 50 years, following a thaw in US-Cuba relations. Meanwhile, cruise firms cannot organise itineraries fast enough and the demand for hotel rooms has soared. Tour operators were halting bookings to the island as its infrastructure struggled to cope with demand.

Swiss chain Kempinski will open Cuba’s first truly glamorous five-star hotel, Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski La Habana. Further luxury hotels will follow.

Less positive has been the ambiguity facing British travellers flying to Cuba from the US. Travel for tourism purposes remains illegal for US citizens under a trade embargo. They may only fly direct to Cuba for one of 12 reasons listed by the US Treasury’s Cuba sanctions office (OFAC). The same applies to Britons. Since self-certification (an honour system) for travel was permitted last year by the Obama administration, UK travellers, like US citizens, are ticking one of the officially-approved categories (educational) for travel on airline sites.​

Comparison website cheapair.com advises: “Keep receipts for cultural activities to demonstrate your visit was filled with 'authorised’ travel activities… keep records of museums visited, local tours you took, cultural activities attended, etc… most of the time, no one will ask.”

The Foreign Office advises that travel between the US and Cuba is permitted as long as visitors comply with US law. The OFAC’s press office has not yet responded to our inquiries.

Couple Book The Wrong Airport In A Plan For A Dream Holiday to Las Vegas

Richella Heekin spent $2500 on the Las Vegas birthday surprise for boyfriend Ben Marlow.

A couple booked a trip of a lifetime to Las Vegas, only to discover at the check-in counter they had selected the wrong airport.

The couple showed up at Birmingham Airport in England and couldn't see their flight on the departure board.

They quickly realised their tickets were for Birmingham, Alabama in the US.

Richella Heekin had been saving for two years to pay for the surprise £1200 ($2500) holiday for boyfriend Ben Marlow's 30th birthday.

Richella's face has just gone red and she's in tears.

"I was like - we're not going to Vegas then. I was more gutted for Richella than myself because it was a surprise."

Heekin said the error occurred after "doing a lot of clicking" on booking site lastminute.com.

She did not realise the BHM code on her ticket was referring to Alabama's airport. BHX is the airport code for the English city.

The couple used a credit card to purchase two last-minute flights to Amsterdam in the Netherlands instead.

But since the pair attracted worldwide media attention for their blunder, Virgin Holidays has stepped in to provide the couple with free flights and a five-night stay in Vegas.

Airport mix-ups are not uncommon.

Last year Ghanaian man Emmanuel Akomanyi was attempting to travel to Guyana on South America's Caribbean coast, but when he got off at the other end he was in the Brazilian city of Goiania - almost 3000km away from where he needed to go.

In 2014, US dentist Edward Gamson sued British Airways after he booked first-class tickets to Granada in Spain, but ended up in Grenada, the Caribbean island.

- A woman who wanted to travel to Dakar, Senegal, ended up in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

- An 85-year-old woman ended up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, after she booked a Southwest Airlines flight to Fort Myers, Florida because of an airline error.

- A VietJet airplane that took off from Hanoi landed at Da Lat airport, 140km away from Cam Ranh Airport, where it was supposed to be.

- A Southwest Airlines plane landed at a small airport in Taney County, Missouri, approximately 12km from where it was meant to land at Branson Airport. Taney County had a much shorter runway and the plane had to brake hard to stop before the end.

- A 21-year-old American student found himself on a plane to Auckland, when he just wanted to get to Oakland, California. He blamed it on the Kiwi accent: ""They didn't say Auckland. They said Oakland. They talk different."