Cayman Airways forced to leave behind 86 passengers in Cuba
HAVANA, Jan. 29th On the afternoon of Friday, January 28, 2022, Cayman Airways was notified by Jamaican Immigration authorities that they could not guarantee that some 86 passengers travelling from Havana, Cuba (with onward connections to KX606 to Kingston and subsequent connections from Kingston to Nicaragua) would be allowed to land in Kingston, Jamaica despite their tickets and itineraries being in order.
As a result of this notification, flight KX833 from Havana to Grand Cayman was delayed while a resolution with the Jamaican authorities was sought. When it became apparent that a timely resolution was not forthcoming, the airline determined it would be unable to transport the 86 passengers on that flight.
With the Cayman Airways flight crew in Havana approaching their duty time limitations, and with the aircraft needed back in Grand Cayman for subsequent flights, the airline was eventually forced to cancel the KX833 flight, and ferry the aircraft back to Grand Cayman from Havana without passengers.
As a result of this situation with flight KX833 and the delay in the aircraft returning to Grand Cayman, two other flight rotations on Friday evening encountered minor delays.
A formal resolution to the matter remains uncertain at this time, but until Cayman Airways receives confirmation from Jamaican Immigration authorities that passengers will be allowed to land in Jamaica when originating in Cuba with onward connections to Nicaragua, the airline has no choice but to restrict travel between Havana and Kingston for those passengers (with onward connections from Kingston to Nicaragua).
Passengers from Havana, who were not travelling to Jamaica, but were nonetheless affected by the cancelled flight, are being accommodated and will travel to Grand Cayman on the next available flight.
Cayman Airways has issued an apology for the inconvenience.
