Airlines tighten luggage rules for Cuba
Martha Blanco McGinnis visits Cuba with a little something for everyone: Clothes and shoes that are cheaper and better made than what’s on the island, candy and coloring books for the kids, Christian books for her hometown church, and cocoa, tea, oatmeal and more for her many friends and relatives.
She returns home to northeast Houston with just the clothes on her back. Even the suitcases stay behind.
“We leave everything there,” she said. “We come back with nothing.”
Cuban-Americans rarely visit family emptyhanded. And while commercial flights are making it easier to access the island nation, they’re also adding new restrictions to an already dizzying set of rules regarding what can and cannot be taken there.
One United Airlines passenger walked into Bush Intercontinental Airport for the inaugural Houston-Havana flight with a 55-inch television and was told he could not check it on his flight. Another showed up with bi-
cycles and was likewise turned away.
“It’s stressful for them,” United spokesman Jonathan Guerin said. “It’s hard for us to have to tell them that.”
Airlines, considering aircraft balance, available space and destination, have created restrictions on the weight and size of luggage. This compiles rules created by the U.S. and Cuban governments determining the value and types of items permitted.
Still, it’s cheaper to bring goods from the U.S. than to buy them in Cuba — Blanco McGinnis said even the two doctors in her family can’t afford a nice pair of sneakers — so many Cuban-Americans are navigating the hurdles, extra fees and duties.
“People take everything they can,” said Felix Chevalier, a Houston-based lawyer representing U.S. businesses interested in Cuban investments. He recently saw someone carrying a car fender on a charter flight.
Know the rules
To avoid having passengers stash valuables in their vehicles or miss their flight to take items home, United wants travelers to know the rules before arriving at the airport.
Passengers’ luggage must not weigh more than 70 pounds and must be no larger than 62 linear inches when checking in for United’s flight from Bush Intercontinental Airport to José Martí International Airport in Havana. United charges extra for bags over 50 pounds. Linear inches can be calculated by adding together an item’s height, width and depth.
Certain equipment, including bicycles, surfboards, wakeboards and windsurfing boards, are not permitted. And busy travel seasons, including the winter, spring and summer, have an embargo on the number of checked bags.
Through Jan. 30, travelers are restricted to two checked pieces of luggage. This will be lifted temporarily but will return in the spring. The 70-pound weight restriction, however, is always in effect because Havana’s airport does not permit heavier bags, Guerin said.
Blanco McGinnis and her relatives in the U.S. have provided cellphones and laptops to those in Cuba, and they pay for cellular and internet plans. But she avoids taking larger items because those are difficult to travel with and they incur fees from charter operators and duties from the Cuban government. “It’s very expensive,” she said. The U.S. Department of Commerce has a license exception that allows Cuban-Americans and others to bring items to eligible individuals, including family members and religious, charitable and educational organizations. Travelers do not need to get licenses as long as they follow certain rules.
Those using the license exception can take up to $800 worth of gifts to an eligible recipient in Cuba. That means they can take up to $800 of personal electronics, toys and other goods to their mother in one house and up to $800 of such items to their brother in another house, a senior Commerce official said.
Some items prohibited
There are some restrictions. For instance, travelers cannot take vehicles or items such as thermal-imaging cameras that could have a military use. They also cannot take goods to individuals who are high-ranking military or Communist Party officials, or to organizations that are administered or controlled by the Cuban government.
For those wishing to take more than $800 worth of goods to a household, the official said they can apply for a license through the Department of Commerce. Travelers should expect to wait two to three weeks for that license to be approved.
“They’re complicated because we have a law that requires us to have a trade embargo with Cuba,” the Commerce official said.
Cuba has its own set of restrictions.
If a traveler packs 30 kilograms or less, not including the 10 kilograms of medicine that’s permitted, he or she doesn’t have to pay any fees. A calculation kicks in after 30 kilograms to determine what fees are due.
Certain items, including televisions, laptops and other electronics also are subject to duty.