American Airlines Plans to Offer Flights to Cuba in 2016

The deal was announced yesterday, exactly one year after President Barack Obama and President Raul Castro announced to ease the strained relations between both countries. However, the move does not lift the US ban on general tourism to the Caribbean island. Cuba, however, could also take steps to make conditions for American businesses there more favorable, officials said.

In a rare broadcast of his speech on state television, the 84-year-old leader said, “Cuba will continue insisting that to achieve the normalization of relations it is imperative that the government of the United States remove all policies of the past”.

Kavulich said a flood of USA visitors might be “disruptive” to Cuba’s one-party political system, but stressed that the Cuban government needs the revenue.

The U.S. and Cuba have reached a bilateral arrangement to establish scheduled air services between the two countries, the U.S. State Department announced Thursday. Messrs. Obama and Castro twice met face to face this year and Mr. Obama said this week he hopes to travel to Cuba before the end of his second term if conditions are right.

Tony Castro, the youngest son of former Cuban president Fidel Castro, says baseball is helping Cuba and the United States to reunite.

But until this week there has been virtually no progress on business ties, a major part of Obama’s new policy on Cuba. “It’s the best way for us because we have parents there and here and this is very good for relations”.

After decades of embargo, flights will soon resume between Cuba and the United States. And despite USA carriers are willing to open scheduled service to Cuba, it is unclear when these would actually resume as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires to verify that safety regulations in Cuban airports are duly in place.

The newly allowed regular passenger flights would be in addition to the charter flights that are already operating between the U.S. and Cuba. Deputy assistant secretary of state for transportation affairs Thomas Engle led the U.S. interagency delegation, and Cuba’s ambassador to the U.S. Yuri Gala Lopez led his country’s delegation.

American Airlines, United, JetBlue and Delta Air Lines are among the carriers which have expressed interest in restarting commercial scheduled services to Havana.