Yahoo – AFP, December
17, 2015
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The United
States announced Thursday the resumption of regular
flights to and from Cuba
(AFP Photo)
|
Washington
(AFP) - The United States and Cuba announced Thursday plans to resume flights
between the two countries, erasing another vestige of what had been strained
ties rooted in the Cold War.
The latest
progress as the countries work to build on their restoration of full diplomatic
relations this summer was made public a year to the day after Barack Obama and
Raul Castro first said they would bury the hatchet.
In a short
statement, the US State Department said that on Wednesday Washington and Havana
had reached "a bilateral arrangement to establish scheduled air services
between the two countries."
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An old
American car passes by the
US Embassy in Havana on December 17,
2015 (AFP
Photo/Yamil Lage)
|
Such travel
is still illegal, as the trade embargo that the Americans slapped on Cuba in
1960 after Fidel Castro came to power in a communist revolution remains in
effect.
In a
statement marking the anniversary of the start of the reconciliation, Obama
renewed his call for the Republican-controlled Congress to lift the embargo,
which he termed the "legacy of a failed policy."
Republicans
are wary of rewarding Cuba until it improves its human rights record.
Until now
only charter flights were allowed. Current US law also allowed for special
permits to visit Cuba, and the criteria for getting one of these have been
looser since January.
The charter
flights will continue under the new agreement, and scheduled flights for
non-tourist purposes will also start, according to the US statement.
Although
the ban on tourist travel remains in force, the new accord will
"facilitate an increase in authorized travel, enhance traveler choices,
and promote people-to-people links between the two countries."
It added:
"a stronger civil aviation relationship will facilitate growth in
authorized travel between our two countries."
The Cuban
Embassy in Washington said the two countries had reached preliminary agreement
on a memorandum of understanding for the establishment of regular flights.
Its
adoption by the two governments will be confirmed in the next few days, the
embassy added.
Airlines
eager to fly
Under the
new arrangement airlines in the two countries can now strike deals in such
areas as code-sharing and aircraft leasing, the embassy said.
Ever since
the historic thaw began a year ago US airlines have been eager to start flying
to Cuba and tap its potential as a new market.
These include American Airlines, which runs 22 weekly charter flights to Cuba from New York and Newark, New Jersey.
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Tourists
visit the Old Havana, on December 16, 2015 (AFP Photo/Yamil Lage)
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These include American Airlines, which runs 22 weekly charter flights to Cuba from New York and Newark, New Jersey.
JetBlue and
United, which also fly charters to Cuba from those two cities, are also
chomping at the bit to begin all-out service to the island.
The United
States and Cuba formally restored diplomatic relations in July and re-opened
embassies in each other's capitals.
Obama said
he had made the decision because he had concluded that 50 years of trying to
encourage democratic and economic change in Cuba by isolating it had simply
failed. It is better to engage Cuba and work with it, he said.
The
countries are now attempting the arduous task of achieving fully normal
relations, like those of any other countries without a historic bone to pick.
As part of
that process the countries set up commissions to address specific issues and
accords have been reached in such areas as migration, mail service and
cooperation on science and the fight against drug trafficking.
But in
April Raul Castro said full normalization would take time.
Cuba wants
the embargo lifted, payment of damages for what it calls lost revenue as a
result of that embargo, and talks on recovering the land which it leases to the
United States and that houses a US naval base and the Guantanamo Bay prison for
terror suspects.
Washington
for its part is seeking damages for property that Cuba seized from US companies
and citizens in the early 1960s, and also wants to see democratic and
free-market reforms on the island.
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