The United States and Cuba have agreed to restore scheduled commercial airline service for the first time in more than five decades in a deal allowing 110 round-trip flights a day between the former Cold War foes.
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The US and Cuba announced Thursday the restoration of commercial air travel between the two countries for the first time in half a century, but restrictions on tourism will still apply to Americans interested in visiting the communist-ruled island.
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Castro, 84, also said the two countries had “not made any progress” on issues Cuba considers necessary for normal relations, such as the continued US trade embargo of Cuba, the USA occupation of a naval base at Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay, and immigration policy. U.S.travel to Cuba has risen by more than 50 percent this year alongside, overwhelming the Caribbean country’s outmoded tourist infrastructure.
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US President Barack Obama himself called on Thursday for Congress to lift the embargo, calling it the “legacy of a failed policy”. “We appreciate the administration’s efforts and the hard work of the USA negotiators to reach this arrangement“, AA CEO Doug Parker said in a statement.
“As American business leaders, scientists, academics, and artists are increasingly engaging in purposeful travel to Cuba, they are forging important new relationships with the Cuban people and supporting the country’s rising entrepreneurial class”, said Sen.
Washington for its part is seeking damages for property that Cuba seized from U.S. companies and citizens in the early 1960s, and also wants to see democratic and free-market reforms on the island.
As the top USA carriers jostle for position in what amounts to one of the industry’s last frontiers, one challenge will be whether to fly smaller planes in a bid for higher ticket prices, or larger ones in a volume play.
However, U.S. law still forbids Americans to travel to the island for tourism.
A year ago, when President Obama used his executive authority to make the biggest changes in U.S.-Cuba policy in fifty years, the idea that this sudden and satisfying leap forward toward engagement and reconciliation with Cuba could succeed seemed nearly too good to be true.
The U.S Department of Transportation his historically allowed airlines to submit bids for proposed service to countries where flight rights are restricted. Most notably, in July in Washington and the following month in Havana – ceremonies were held to mark the re-opening of our embassies after a period of 54 years.
The deal does not mean that Americans will be able to begin booking travel to Cuba immediately.
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American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue and United Airlines welcomed the Department of State announcement.
