general

Eight US airlines have been granted permission by the US DoT to begin scheduled flights between the US and Havana, Cuba, this autumn. DoT’s decision requires that carriers begin services within 90 days of the final order’s issue date. The Aug 31 announcement comes nearly 2 months after 6 US airlines were granted permission to fly to 9 Cuban cities other than Havana, and 6 months after the US and the Cuban govt signed an agreement to open up scheduled air service between the two countries. DoT said its principal objective was “to maximise public benefits, including choosing airlines that offered and could maintain the best service between the US and Havana.” US citizens may travel to Cuba only if their purpose of visit falls under one of 12 categories authorised by the US Department of the Treasury. <br/>

Progress is underway on the open skies policy spat between the Gulf carriers and the US with a positive outcome expected in the coming months, the UAE Economy minister, Sultan Saeed Al Mansouri, said Wednesday. He said that the two sides held meetings in Washington DC recently and another meeting is expected to take place in the coming months. “We are working together amicably,” Al Mansouri said. “What will determine the whole thing is the open skies policy agreement that we have with them. The UAE did not violate that agreement and this is what we came up together as an agreement between the two sides,” Al Mansouri said. He also said the US is going through elections and they have to wait and see what is going to happen there, and how it will impact the talks. <br/>