Why Isn’t Havana Among Cuban Cities U.S. Airlines can Now Serve?
Why Isn’t Havana Among Cuban Cities U.S. Airlines can Now Serve?
The approval of the new flights should increase pressure on Congress to lift the travel ban altogether, points out AS/COA’s Alana Tummino.
WASHINGTON- The United States announced Friday that six U.S. airlines have received permission to provide air service to Cuba beginning in the fall – another step that is likely to vastly increase the number of Americans traveling to the island, challenging its tourism infrastructure.
But the government did not approve any service from the United States to Havana, the island nation’s capital. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said on a Department of Transportation blog that he’s working with U.S. airlines on proposals for Havana service, but that those routes will be announced at a later date.
Experts suggested that Havana was left off the first list of authorized Cuban destinations because of the deplorable conditions at the capital’s Jose Martí Airport. Passengers often spend hours waiting to check in for their flights, and travelers who use the airport say it couldn’t handle a bigger flow of passengers without a major facelift.
“Right now it’s busting at the seams,” said Alana Tummino, the head of the Cuba Working Group at the business-oriented Americas Society and Council of the Americas....
