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| Waiting upstairs for the Delta flight |
The first weekend in March 2018 I flew back to the US on
Delta. I arrived 3 hours before departure. When you go in the
main door of the Port au Prince airport, go to the right to get to the Delta check-in. After the first stop to show passports and answer questions, continue
to the computer kiosk. It was able to process all my info except my credit card
for checked luggage, so I did that at the main counter where I dropped off my
luggage. The attendant spoke excellent English. After that all airlines proceed to the main
security line where you show your passport, go through security, then proceed to the
customs booth to have your passport stamped.
Then it is not clear where to go. I had always taken the escalator
upstairs to the American Airlines waiting area. Turns out all other airline passengers
wait on the ground floor in a jumble that is not delineated by airline. There
is one restaurant and a junk food shop on that floor, but go upstairs and you’ll
find a lot of gift shops and more food counters (same place as before the
earthquake). All shops take US bills, and of course where I got my cheese sandwich
for $4.50US they did not have change for a $5. And they didn’t have juice
despite a sign on the counter that said grenadia and cherise juice for $5US. The counter downstairs did have mango and
tamarind juice. These gift shops have
typical Haitian art and crafts, but also maps, books, rum, and Haitian
chocolate! So I bought some Askanya chocolate at the corner kiosk in the hallway (it's not marked, look for boxes that look like they have chocolate bars). The rapidou version is kind of
gritty with an odd flavor, like rapidou!
After eating I went back downstairs, bought a tamarind
juice, found the bathroom by the duty-free shop, found an empty seat, and about
10 minutes later an announcement said that the Delta flight needed to line up
for security. This was about 1.5 hours before departure time. Only none in my group heard the initial English
version which was muffled, we only heard the French version say Delta, and had
to wait for the message to repeat a couple times to know what to do. So amongst the crowd of seated people we formed
a line, showed someone at a booth our passports, then walked up a flight of
stairs to wait in line again in a sunny hallway for a pat-down and luggage search. Then we boarded! American Airlines has a much calmer waiting
area, juice and Rebo counters, and wifi. This other area gave you a last taste
of navigating a foreign country.
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An upstairs food counter.
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| The cheese sandwich was good! |
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| The hallway with gift shops, and the yellow kiosk that had chocolate. |
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