Authorized American travel to the island is up 50 percent this year, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, who heads the U.S. Embassy in Havana, said Tuesday. The terminal at Jose Martí International Airport where the chartered US planes land is relatively small so there are some physical limitations to the amount of commercial flights that can be scheduled.
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(AP Photo/Desmond Boylan). Backdropped by pictures of Cuba’s President Raul Castro, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, center, and rebel leader Ernesto Che Guevara giving a speech at the United Nations in 1964, Josefina Vidal, director general of the U…
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It could mean more than a dozen flights arriving into Cuba from the USA a day, officials said.
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“As the leading carrier to the Caribbean and the leading USA airline to Cuba, we look forward to establishing scheduled service to Cuba in 2016, from Miami and other American hubs”, said American Airlines CEO Doug Parker.
The agreement must provide 30 regular airline flights a day, allowing a surge of American travel to Cuba that could eventually flood the country with hundreds of thousands of USA visitors a year.
An official agreement would pave the way for U.S. airlines to schedule flights to Cuba so that travellers could book directly on the internet.
While Thursday’s announcement certainly points to a coming era of positive ties between Cuba and the US, it does not change the fact that many of Washington’s restrictions against Cuba continue to apply in full force.
While progress has been made, sharp differences remain between the two sides, including Washington’s criticism of Havana’s human rights record, and Cuba’s desire to reclaim Guantanamo Bay, which the US has been using as a military base and controversial prison to house detainees. Obama has also taken several steps to encourage closer business ties with the island.
At least one major carrier, JetBlue, is now flying charter flights to Cuba. US tourists are coming down nonstop, Cuban Americans are devising ways of investing on the island in the most intuitive and inventive fashion ever.
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Flights to Cuba could begin within months. With the embassies reopening, the Obama administration said its diplomats have “greater freedom” to travel in Cuba and engage with the Cuban people. With the aviation agreement, travel between the US and Cuba will be allowed on scheduled airline service, which will be more convenient, frequent and easily accessible.
