Ask Auntie, CNS Local Life, Caymanian status

I recently was at the remodelled airport to pick up arriving guests. While waiting for them I wanted to use wifi from the airport on my phone. I found, I believe it was, CIAA guest, but it required a password. I asked a not very nice (friendly) parking machine attendant for the password. Her reply was, “There is no free internet.”

It seems to me that there was free wifi when the remodel started. Will it be re-added? Every major airport in the world has some form of free internet available to all, or is this just Caymankind?


Auntie’s answer: I contacted the Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA) for clarification and the answer is actually both yes and no on the wifi availability.

Owen Roberts International Airport does offer free wifi, as you would have noticed any time you were in the departures hall. However, the arrivals side is a different story.

A CIAA official explained that customs and immigration regulations prohibit the use of cell phones in the arrivals hall. I am sure there are quite a few people who have been told to get off their phones as they stood by the luggage carousels and attempted to contact the person coming to pick them up.

The “CIAA guest” wifi option you saw on your phone requires a password because it is only for CIAA employees or people who have business with the authority, such as those there for a meeting, the official explained.

So, while the response from the attendant was accurate I do take issue with the apparent lack of Caymankind. Perhaps she was at the end of a long day or had dealt with a lot of issues on her shift. But, even so, anyone whose job requires face-to-face contact with people, and especially visitors to our island, has to find a way to treat everyone politely and, even better, do so with a smile.

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