US senators object to new US-Cuba flight restrictions

A group of 11 Democratic senators is urging the Trump administration to reverse new restrictions that ban US commercial flights to all Cuban destinations except Havana. In a Nov. 1 letter to the heads of the Departments of State and Transportation, the lawmakers, led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), called the decision “another step backwards for the people of Cuba and the US,” adding that officials estimate it will reduce the number of American visitors to Cuba by more than half. The DOT on Oct. 25 issued a notice suspending the authority granted to US airlines to fly between the US and any point in Cuba except José Martí International Airport in Havana. The suspension is set to go into effect on Dec. 9. The DOT said it took the action after a request from the State Department made in an Oct. 25 letter from secretary of state Mike Pompeo to transportation secretary Elaine Chao. Suspending flights to non-Havana airports “sends a clear message to the Cuban Government” regarding alleged human rights violations and the county’s support for Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro, Pompeo wrote, while maintaining flying to HAV “preserves the main gateway for travel from the US to Cuba on commercial flights for family visitation or other lawful purposes.” The flight ban would mainly affect Dallas/Fort Worth-based American Airlines and New York-based JetBlue Airways. Both fly to Camagüey, Holguín and Santa Clara, and American also serves Santiago de Cuba and Varadero.<br/>