We missed our flight back to Seattle at San Jose Del Cabo airport. You heard that right! We laugh about it now, thinking of how we managed to miss our flight despite reaching 3 hours before our departure time. But, on the day of the incident, it was super stressful and disheartening.
Here’s what happened on our flight back from San Jose Del Cabo and what we did after missing our flight. If you’re looking for more details about Mexico’s visa requirements and immigration process, check out the below article.
We traveled to San Jose Del Cabo from Seattle in the last week of May and had our return flight booked for Jun 1 at 3:55 PM for Delta Airlines.
Like any other time, we tried to do an online check-in on the Delta Airlines mobile app 24 hours before the boarding time. However, for no specific reason, the app said, “Due to government regulations, you have to check in at the airport” (we are Indian passport holders).
So, on the day of our flight back to Seattle, we reached the airport 3 hours before our departure time, as recommended for international flights.
The check-in process at the San Jose Del Cabo Airport
The airport had two alternatives for check-in (for all passengers), a kiosk or the baggage drop-off counter. We opted for the kiosk, completed our check-in, and got our boarding passes that didn’t have any gate or seats assigned. Little did we know that we wouldn’t receive any updates about the flight change because we didn’t check in with the airline’s staff.
Moreover, to calm our anxiety, we even contacted one of the ground staff about the gate and flight details since it wasn’t showing up on the display board. They informed us it would show up once the departure time was near.
Security check at San Jose Del Cabo Airport
We then headed to the security check counter, and the whole process took merely 5 minutes and was smooth. The airport was surprisingly empty on a Saturday. But the next day (Sunday) was packed with tourists. To our surprise, the face wash that the security officer cleared the previous day suddenly was “an excess item to carry” the next day.
Since the board was still not displaying our flight details, we decided to wait next to the display board (near gate 17) for our flight details to pop up.
The wait
We were constantly checking the board, and around 2:30 PM, we finally saw our flight details on the board that said Gate 14. But with a delayed schedule with a new flight time of 4:13 PM. So, we picked up our luggage, headed to Gate 14, and waited there for the next update of our flight.
In about 40 minutes, the board displayed another update with a delay of another 30 minutes, making our new boarding time 4:55 PM.
Here’s where the story gets interesting. Around 3:40 PM, the display board at Gate 14 showed Alaska Airlines instead of Delta, which left us puzzled. At the same time, we rushed towards the closest flight display board, which was now showing “Last Call” for Delta passengers.
And to our horror, Gate 12 instead of 14.
We rushed to Gate 12, hoping to catch our flight, but it had already left the airport at its original scheduled time, 3:51 PM.
And here we were at Gate 14, thinking our flight had been delayed by an hour. That’s how we ended up missing our flight.
Summary of our conversation with Delta Staff
We then rushed to the main baggage drop-off counter to inquire about the next available flight and to understand what led to this. After a long conversation, the ground staff told us that the SJD airport was silent, and they had made several announcements before leaving the airport.
The staff informed us that the next available flight was the following day. So, there was no choice but to spend another night in Cabo.
Our conversation with the staff was not very pleasant. We shared our feedback about the fiasco, hoping for empathy and accountability. This incident not only cost us time and money but also gave us an enormous amount of stress and anxiety about being stranded in a foreign country.
We also accidentally broke our laptop’s screen while running towards our boarding gate in such a rush. 😭
Our heads were full of questions that needed answers. Where was the “silent airport info” advertised? Why was the staff calling out our name if it was a silent airport or Why didn’t we get any notification?
I will answer all these questions below and suggest some improvements the airport can use to improve its facilities and processes. Continuing the story…
We then requested a flight change at no extra cost, which they did after some back and forth. We also asked them to cover the hotel expenses, which they refused as it was “entirely our fault” according to them.
After spending an additional $200 (USD) in San Jose Del Cabo and with a broken laptop screen, we landed in Seattle the next day.
Here’s what we learned from our mistakes that you can avoid while flying back from SJD airport.
Our learnings
SJD is a silent airport, and notifications (in-app/ SMS/ Email/ Phone) are the only means to notify a passenger. You won’t find any banners or display ads referring to this or the staff mentioning this during the security or check-in process.
Make sure to check in with ground staff at the baggage drop-off counter to get your documents checked before you get a boarding pass. You will get a yellow sticker indicating all your documents have been checked and cleared for boarding. It will also ensure that you receive a notification about the flight updates.
Plus, the airport plays loud music near the gates, making it impossible to hear announcements. So, stay near the display board to keep an eye on the updates.
Conclusion
I come from Delhi, India, home to the Indira Gandhi International Airport, one of the world’s busiest airports, with over 72 million visitors annually. It’s a silent airport and you can find that displayed all over the airport. Additionally, if a passenger is running late for their gate, the airline makes sure to call them or send them an SMS (based on my past experiences). So, if an airport with such high traffic can manage this, why can’t SJD, especially on a day with low footfall?
We have learned our lesson and hope no one goes through this horror. I hope this article helps you have a smooth and hassle-free experience at San Jose Del Cabo airport.
