My wife is scheduled to go to Haiti in two months on a humanitarian aide mission at an orphanage. Today I read about an epidemic of kidnappings in Haiti and I don't want her to go now.

She is suppose to fly into Port-au-Prince for a night or two and then on to cap-haitien. Tickets are already booked.

Two questions:
1) will the airlines refund the ticket (AA) or give future credit?
2) If my wife decides to scrap the one-way ticket into PAP and just fly into Cap Haitien she would need to leave from MIami instead of FLL. Since she already has SWA tickets into FLL is there a shuttle she can catch from FLL to Miami airport??

Sorry if this is confusing.

I wonder if your wife is going on the same kind of trip my daughter-in-law did to Haiti a couple of years ago LivinLARGE. I did worry about her but she did come home safe and sound.

I guess the bottom line is that each person needs to decide what their comfort level is and base their decision on that. I do not believe another loved one should make a decision for another adult, no matter how worried the person is.

Regarding airline tickets etc. and flights I do not know.

I hope all goes well for you and your wife.

Yes I do understand your point of view LoveItaly, that is why I encouraged her to go at first. Obviously Haiti is not the safest place in the world but I did't know that there is an avg. of 8-10 kidnappings per day and most target wealthy individuals.

She does have a wife and child at home as well. No I don't want to tie my wife down but there are other people who love her life who are also affected by her decisions. Thanks for your reply.

any word on shuttles from FLL to MIA?

Try posting this on flyertalk.com. Or calling the airline directly. Good luck. I don't blame you for being concerned.

sorry, meant to say "she does have a husband and child at home.."

ps today there was an article about 2 missionaries abducted on thier way to church. it also said that Columbia was once the "kidnapping capital of the world" but that Haitian kidnappings have dwarfed Columbia's figures now!

Hi liVinLARGE, I don't think I explained myself well at all.

I 100% understand your concern and worry. I felt the same way regarding my DIL. I know her husband did also.
I would not have made the trip knowing how stressed and worried my love ones would be. But that is me, I try not to cause those I care about stress. But my DIL had her mind made up and there was nothing anyone could do to talk her out of it. Consequently I told myself to quit worrying and I left it in "God's hands".

My DIL had planned on making a return trip but she hasn't. So maybe her experiences there a couple of years ago was enough for her? I really don't know.

I do not have the answer to your airline tickets questions. I would call the airline directly.

My very best wishes to all of you..I hope this situation gets worked out where everyone is happy and relaxed.

Regarding question #1 - different airlines have different policies about "non-refundable" tickets. Many will allow you to bank a credit for a year, sometimes minus a fee, for future use - some restrict it to same itinerary, some not. Obviously check with airline.

Question #2 - I do not know, but when I have had similar questions I have found website for airport and they usually have a ground transportation section that answers that sort of questions.

Good luck to both of you.

Ahh Haiti! My first encounter with a pit latrine and a "chimmey"! I remember it well.

I went there a couple of years ago. Three nights in Port and four in Cap...well before the recent unrest there. It was also a mission trip of sorts.
The kidnapping rate was pretty high when I went. And everyone around me was worried and discouraged me but I went anyway. I'm from the high crime rate country of Jamaica, right? What's the worst thing that could happen to me? Ahh naivity is a wonderful thing!

But I am glad I went. That trip literally changed my life forever. But yes, I do understand your concern. I understand it well.

Anyway. If I had the chance to fly straight into Cap and avoid Port altogether then that would be my option. Getting back to Port from Cap is too much of a gamble...even with a ticket. It's a first come, first serve kind of a thing. The ticket is irrelevant as they usually sell more tickets than they have seats.

Either way, beware of the "porters" when you land. They literally gnashed teeth over our bags when we landed in Port. There they were, wrestling with me and my friend for our bags while we told them we could carry them ourselves. Then they started fighting with each other over the bags. It was so strange.

I would also suggest calling the airline about cancelling or changing the tickets.

If she does go, she's in for a really life changing experience indeed!

Thanks for all the replies! I especially appreciate info on past experiences by those who have gone. We Are adopting a little boy from Cap but my wife is meeting him and then doing work for an agency as well.

I called the airlines. AA will give future credit but charge you $100 fee. Southwest Airlines will let me rebook NO FEE!!! No wonder SWA is sooo profitable - Ive heard people rail them about being Greyhounds in the sky but they treat people with respect.

Still working on the shuttle info from FLL to MIa.

I got a kick out of some of your stories. I too remember being in St. Maarten on a cruise stop and the police got into an ALL OUT brawl on the street!!!

my wife and i have travelled, adopted an older child from Guatemala, walked the back allies of istanbul late at night (yikes) but Haiti seems lawless to me.

Like I told my wife, anyone can tell you how safe they feel but those two missionaries abducted yesterday don't have another chance to decide now.

I read about the increase in kidnappings yesterday. These three paragraphs from a CNN story would have me worried for her and others traveling there:

"On Wednesday, gunmen stopped dozens of cars traveling along a main road leading to the capital's airport and tried to seize the occupants, Dallemand said. At least two Haitians were reported kidnapped.

The attacks were followed by heavy shooting that killed at least six people and injured several others in different parts of the capital, radio Kiskeya reported, suggesting a level of coordination among the gangs not seen in months.

It's unclear how long Barron and Seastrum had been in Haiti. Dallemand said the two were staying at a hotel in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Delmas, where many kidnappings occur."

I would try to avoid PAP at all costs if I were you. Best of luck to you.

What was funny to me was that everytime I told anybody there that I was from Jamaica, they looked at me with awe!
They couldn't believe that I lived in Jamaica and was...well...alive!! They really believe that Jamaica is worse than Haiti when it comes to safety.

Pilates :
I bet if you asked those two missionaries if they felt safe they would have said yes. All the missionaries I spoke with in Cap and in Port kept telling me how safe they felt. I too felt a level of safety when I went. Everybody was so friendly and nice. But then there's always that level of safety you feel when you're some place else.

I really hope she does go via Cap and really hope she comes back safely. If you keep looking at the news, btw, she'll never go to Haiti

They released the missionaries btw.

http://www.thepath.fm/news/newsitem.cfm?id=19405

The FBI says two American missionaries kidnapped on their way to church in Haiti's capital were freed after their families paid a ransom. A UN official in Haiti says the ransom amount was believed to be below 10,000 dollars.

Tom Barron, a minister at the non-denominational Mustard Seed church, and congregation member William Seastrum were driving early Sunday when assailants stopped their car and dragged them away. Both missionaries are from High Point, North Carolina.
Barron said in a phone interview that he and Seastrum were not harmed by their captors.

They're among at least 29 people who have been reported kidnapped in Haiti so far this month. The FBI says another American, Charles Adams of Albany, New York, was released Thursday after a ransom was paid.

Yes, in an article I read it differentiated between the Colombian kidnappings and Haitian kidnappings. Evidently in Colombia you go on a "two year ecological tour" in the jungles whereas in Haiti it is usually a couple days until $$$ is paid.

However, those were MEN, I have read that women may endure other forms of torture during thier ordeal.

THink about it - many of these Haitian bandits are barefoot and can hardly feed themselves let alone feed hostages for an extended period.

I also read that Haiti is used as a primary stopover for the drug trade - the drug lords are in an uproar right now with a new gov't. The drug lords don't want a stable gov't b/c if the gov't is in chaos then the reign

JA: Thank you for posting the good news.