A Cuban woman residing in Jacksonville took to TikTok to share a humorous incident she experienced at the airport while traveling to Cuba this December. Her story, filled with wit, describes how seemingly harmless items in her luggage triggered confusion and suspicion among security personnel.
Like many Cuban expatriates, Mauren Delgado (@mauren_delgado on TikTok) packed a range of items for her family back in Cuba, including food and bicycle inner tubes—a special request from her stepfather. However, as her luggage was scanned, the bicycle tubes unexpectedly set off an alarm.
"The guy with his gloves started checking item by item, scanning everything, until he found what he was actually looking for, which I had no idea about. He pulls something out and asks, 'What is this?' Turns out they were bicycle inner tubes because my stepfather has been trying to find tires and tubes there for a while, and he asked me to bring them. The tubes are these small, tightly packed things. And then he asked me what it was, and I couldn't remember how to say bicycle inner tube. I explained it’s what goes inside the bicycle. He looked at it and said, 'Yeah, yeah, okay.' Then he told me, 'This looks really bad on the screen.' And innocently, I asked him why. He said, 'It looks like a bomb.' At that moment, I noticed people were watching. They thought I had brought a bomb into the airport," she recounted, surprised.
This wasn’t Mauren's first run-in with airport security. On a previous trip, her luggage also piqued the officers' curiosity. "Last time, I had about 15 bars of soap I bought at Dollar Tree because soap was scarce in Cuba. They pulled my suitcase aside, and I had to explain they were meant for Cuba. If this were in Miami, it might not have caught their attention as much because they're used to it, but not in Jacksonville," she recalled.
After confirming there was no threat this time, the security agent advised her to remove the tubes from her backpack before passing through security during her layover in Miami, explaining the situation to avoid misunderstandings. Mauren followed the advice and successfully completed her journey to Cuba without further issues.
Her story, shared on social media, not only sparked laughter among those who heard it but also prompted a reflection on the peculiar challenges of traveling with luggage loaded with supplies for the island. "If you ever plan to take bicycle tubes to Cuba, keep this in mind," she concluded.
Travel Challenges for Cubans: Key Questions Answered
Why did the bicycle tubes cause an alarm at the airport?
The tightly packed bicycle tubes appeared suspicious on the security scanner, resembling something like a bomb, which is why they triggered an alarm.
What advice was given to Mauren to avoid future security misunderstandings?
The security agent suggested that Mauren take the bicycle tubes out of her backpack and explain their purpose before the security screening during her layover.