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My partner is travelling to join me and my family (all adults) on a two-week holiday in Barbados. His flight with Caribbean Airlines Havana >>Trinidad>>Barbados is scheduled to land at Grantley Adams airport approximately 5 hours after ours (the same day).

He is a Cuban citizen, eligible for visa-free entry. I am sponsoring all of the costs of his holiday, and he will have paperwork to prove this (copy of my passport and flight details, invitation letter and confirmation of accommodation, travel and health insurance, letter to Bajan Immigration explaining the background to the invitation and the arrangements for his support and maintenance during the holiday). He does not speak much English and I would like to be with him when he clears Immigration rather than just waiting for him landside.

Is it feasible to wait for him airside? Should I ask permission to do so on arrival? Would I be breaking any rules by having my family pick up my baggage, given we are arriving together on the same flight?

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  • General comment, not a specific answer: There are rarely airside waiting facilities for arriving passengers at any airport. Hanging around for five hours will likely be uncomfortable and attract attention. Your family won't be able to collect your bags as they'll be the wrong side of customs. Do you want to leave your bags in the baggage claim area unattended for five hours?
    – user105640
    Dec 17, 2019 at 20:26
  • Are the other family members flying with you, or meeting you at the airport? That affects whether they can pick up your baggage.
    – Patricia Shanahan
    Dec 17, 2019 at 20:30
  • @Patricia Shanahan Arriving on the same flight. I’ve edited my question to make it clear we are arriving together
    – Traveller
    Dec 17, 2019 at 20:34
  • @Arthur’s Pass I am travelling with my family on the same flight, otherwise I wouldn’t be wondering if having them pick up my baggage might be an option.
    – Traveller
    Dec 17, 2019 at 20:39
  • Is your family happy to take your luggage through customs? (I assume they will be but it is not a given in every family.)
    – Willeke ♦
    Dec 17, 2019 at 20:45

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You are unlikely to find anywhere suitable to wait.

Instead, I suggest sending your partner a note, written in English, saying that you will be waiting for him, and giving your phone number - remember to include the international dialing prefix. Make sure your phone is set up with a plan for receiving calls in Barbados.

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  • Yes, thanks, that was my original intention (although the note will be in Spanish for his benefit and in English for the Bajan authorities’ benefit). I was just looking for a possible alternative to the usual method of waiting outside Arrivals. He already has my phone number :-) but since Cuban mobiles don’t work outside Cuba he won’t be able to call me.
    – Traveller
    Dec 17, 2019 at 21:25
  • @Traveller The reason for having an English translation and including your phone number is that a customs or immigration official who is having difficulty communicating with him will have the option of calling you.
    – Patricia Shanahan
    Dec 17, 2019 at 21:29
  • Yes, thanks, I’m aware of that too. I’m not really asking what’s needed for him to clear Immigration, I just wanted to know if there’s a way I can be with him when he does it.
    – Traveller
    Dec 17, 2019 at 21:33

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