Tampa travelers excited over US and Cuba deal restoring commercial flights
The United States and Cuba announced plans to resume flights between the two nations, erasing another vestige of what had been strained ties rooted in the Cold War.
The agreement was made official on Thursday to mark the one-year anniversary of the announcements by Presidents Obama and Castro that their countries were restoring diplomatic ties.
The US also announced the start of commercial flights between the two countries.
And, of course, there was only one suitable place to hold this soirée: the recently re-opened Embassy of the Republic of Cuba.
American has been flying to Cuba the longest of any USA carrier, starting charter service to the island in 1991. 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. “There is no beef, nothing has happened.’ We were promised new businesses would spring up, that there was going to be human rights improvements”, said Coral Gables Mayor Jim Cason. Havana has been swamped by US celebrities.
Among the things he criticized are transmissions of Radio Marti and TV Marti to Cuba despite his government’s objections. But he said they had “not made any progress” on issues Cuba considers necessary for normal relations, such as ending the United States trade embargo of Cuba and USA withdrawal from the naval base at Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay.
USA Today noted that the schedule will include 20 flights a day between the U.S. and Havana, and 10 a day between the United States and nine other global airports spread across the island.
Currently, charter flights are the only air transportation options between the two countries.
The comment came in Castro’s first review of the rapprochement that he and U.S. President Barack Obama began a year ago.
American’s chairman and CEO Doug Parker said in a statement “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”.
Cuba operates two currencies, one that mostly circulates in the domestic economy and another pegged to the dollar that is worth much more.
The new rule will authorize several American airlines to retail tickets for flights to Cuba online.