Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Assistant Secretary of State Charles Rivkin formalized an agreement with Cuban officials Tuesday that will re-open commercial air services between the two countries for the first time in 50 years.
After officials from both countries signed the document during a meeting in Havana Tuesday, the Transportation Department invited U.S. airlines to apply for the opportunity to provide scheduled passenger and cargo flights.
“We are excited to announce the availability of new scheduled air service opportunities to Cuba for U.S. carriers, shippers and the traveling public, and we will conduct this proceeding in a manner designed to maximize public benefits,” Foxx said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.
The meeting in Havana formalized an agreement reached in December to expand the number of scheduled charter flights between the U.S. and Cuba. The new arrangement will facilitate visits for travelers that fall under specific categories authorized by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
U.S. business interests, including the National Foreign Trade Council, hailed the move as another milestone in efforts to restore ties between the U.S. and Cuba.
“[The NFTC has] long advocated not only for reestablishing U.S. commercial and diplomatic relations with Cuba, but also for expanding people-to-people exchanges,” NFTC Vice President for Global Trade Issues Jake Colvin said in a statement. “By restoring scheduled passenger and cargo flights between the two countries, the agreement reached today will go a long way to enable both objectives.”
Under the agreement, each country will have the opportunity to operate up to 20 daily round-trip flights between the U.S. and Havana, as well as up to 10 daily round-trip flights between the U.S. and each of Cuba’s nine other international airports.
The DOT is now asking U.S. airlines to apply for the flights and will determine which carriers will begin the routes from particular cities around the country.
“The department recognizes the eagerness of U.S. carriers to take advantage of these new Cuba opportunities, and intends to reach a final decision as expeditiously as possible,” it said in a release.
Applications from airlines are due March 2.
The categories of travel authorized under U.S. law include: family visits; official business of the U.S. government; foreign governments, and certain intergovernmental organizations; journalistic activity; professional research and professional meetings; educational activities; religious activities; public performances, clinics, workshops, athletic and other competitions, and exhibitions; as well as broader missions including “support for the Cuban people and humanitarian projects.”
The agreement does nothing to limit charter services. All charter flights can continue under the deal as they did before, according to DOT.
Foxx’s travel to Havana comes the same week Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca and other Cuban officials will be in Washington for a second round of talks on new bilateral trade regulations with U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker.
The minister will lead the Cuban delegation to the Second U.S.-Cuba Regulatory Dialogue scheduled for Feb. 17-18. The dialogue will focus on the scope and limitations of recently announced modifications to the U.S. trade embargo.
The meeting is “another opportunity to work directly with our Cuban counterparts to better understand the way our two governments and economies can work together in support of the Cuban people,” Pritzker said.
Since Obama announced in December 2014 his intent to work to normalize ties with Havana, Washington has relaxed financial restrictions on banking institutions involved in handling Cuban transactions, and is allowing more travel between the two countries.
The first regulatory dialogue was held in October. Malmierca also plans to meet with members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and visit the state of Virginia at the invitation of Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
