FILE – In this March 19, 2016 file photo, a loose cable dangles from above as people walk past colonial buildings in Havana, Cuba. Scheduled commercial airline service to Havana from 10 American cities won tentative government approval Thursday, July 7, 2016, advancing President Barack Obama’s effort to normalize relations with Cuba. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)WASHINGTON – The U.S. government on Thursday tentatively approved scheduled commercial airline service to Havana from 10 American cities, further bridging the gulf between countries as close as an hour flight but long kept at a greater distance by the Cold War.
The decision is another long stride in President Barack Obama’s effort to normalize U.S.-Cuba relations.
“Reopening travel relations with Cuba is about more than just restoring the freedom to travel there for all Americans – it’s about opening Cuba to new ideas, new values and improved human rights that our 50-year-old policy of isolation could not achieve,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
But Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, expressed doubts about the Cuban government’s ability to prevent attacks by militants, saying the Obama administration is “in a mad rush to sign agreements” before “ensuring basic safeguards of security.”
Eight U.S. airlines are expected to begin round-trip service as early as this fall between the U.S. and the Cuban capital, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said.