US commercial flights take off for Cuba

When JetBlue Flight 387 touched down Wednesday in Cuba, it was the first direct commercial flight between the US and the island in over a half-century.



The Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Santa Clara, Cuba, flight is the latest symbol of the thawing of relations between the former Cold War adversaries, who restored diplomatic ties in 2015.

Until now, Santa Clara was most famous for being the site of the tomb of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the Argentine revolutionary who fought alongside Fidel Castro and was later killed with the help of the CIA while leading an insurrection in Bolivia.

Soon, up to a maximum of 110 daily flights operated by US carriers are due to begin flying to the communist-run island, according to the US Department of Transportation.

The department later Wednesday that eight carriers will begin scheduled flights to Cuba's capital city Havana as early as the fall. Those carriers are: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines. The flights will provide service to Havana from Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; Fort Lauderdale; Houston; Los Angeles; Miami; Newark, New Jersey; New York City; Orlando, Florida; and Tampa, Florida, the department said.

"Today's actions are the result of months of work by airlines, cities, the US government, and many others toward delivering on President Obama's promise to reengage with Cuba," said US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "Transportation has a unique role in this historic initiative and we look forward to the benefits these new services will provide to those eligible for Cuba travel."

Travel ban remains in effect

Although the Obama administration has eased restrictions on travel to Cuba, there is still a travel ban for Americans visiting the island.

Tourism to Cuba is still illegal, but there are now 12 categories of "authorized travel."

Before US citizens can board flights to Cuba, they will need to sign an affidavit swearing their travel falls within the permitted categories, including educational, religious and humanitarian reasons.

With the relaxing of the travel ban, Cuba has seen a spike in US visitors: about 93,000, or nearly double from the year before, according to Cuban tourism officials.

Despite the increase, Cuban officials say the embargo, or the "blockade" as they refer to US sanctions, must be lifted before there is full freedom of travel between the two countries.

"This process of establishing regular flights is a positive step," said Eduardo Rodríguez, the Cuban Vice Minister of Transportation at a news conference on Monday in Havana."Although the restrictions of the blockade remain, which among other things impede United States citizens from traveling to our country as tourists."

Rodríguez said Foxx would travel to the island on Wednesday to mark the historic occasion of the first direct commercial flight.

More than 50 years of no commercial flights

Until Fidel Castro's revolution in 1959, Cuba had been a favorite vacation spot for Americans in the Caribbean. But in 1961, after Castro declared his government to be in the Socialist camp, diplomatic relations were severed and direct commercial fight service disrupted.

"Castro cracks down on flights from Cuba," reads a UPI wire service headline from the era.

During the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, US carriers were briefly banned from flying over the island and the Cuban military shot down a U2 spy plane, killing the pilot.

For the decades that followed, the only US aircraft that traveled to the island were the result of frequent hijackings.

In 2001, a change in US regulations allowed Cuban Americans to visit family on the island and for charter flights to begin to travel between the two countries.

Cuban officials say that since then they have coordinated closely with their American counterparts and are ready for the US carriers to return.

"In relation to aviation security, we have been working with the US government for about 15 years. This isn't new," said Alfredo Cordero, the president of the Cuban Civil Aviation Institute. "Cuba gives the maximum attention to this aspect of aviation security and we have achieved the training of personnel and the necessary resources to obtain the security that's required by the International Civil Aviation Organizations."

Concerns about security

But not everyone is celebrating the resumed flight service.

Rep. John Katko, a New York Republican, said the flights pose a risk to US security.

(culled from www.krdo.com)