US, Cuba near deal on restoring direct commercial flights

US, Cuba near deal on restoring direct commercial flights
By BRADLEY KLAPPER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Cuba are close to an agreement
on restoring regularly scheduled, commercial flights between the
countries, a senior American diplomat said Tuesday, as talks on the
matter were ongoing.

Jeffrey DeLaurentis, who heads the U.S. embassy in Havana, described an
aviation deal as one of several in reach for the former Cold War foes in
their wide-ranging discussions to improve relations. The Obama
administration has been trying to wrap up an agreement on flights before
the year's end.

"We have made good progress and come a long way," DeLaurentis told
reporters on a conference call two days before the one-year anniversary
of the announcement by Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro that they
were ending a half-century of U.S.-Cuban enmity.

"Our two countries have engaged in a historic dialogue on a wide range
of issues," he said. "We have discussed concrete objectives on civil
aviation, direct transportation of mail, environment, regulatory changes
and counternarcotics. And we have either reached understandings on those
topics or continue to narrow our differences in ways that suggest we
could soon conclude such understandings."

Right now, American and Cuban travelers must fly on charter flights that
are complicated to book, rarely involve an online portal and often force
prospective travelers to email documents and payment information back
and forth with an agent. Those flying sometimes must arrive at the
airport four hours in advance; strict baggage limits apply.

U.S. and Cuban officials are negotiating the logistics of commercial
airline routes this week, and may be able to make an announcement afterward.

A deal would be timely. Authorized American travel to the island is up
50 percent this year, DeLaurentis said, buoyed by significant expansion
in cultural and educational programs. Among Obama's regulatory changes
this year was one permitting Americans participating in such programs to
visit Cuba without first applying for Treasury Department permission.

And it would build on last week's declaration that direct mail service
would restart after a 52-year interruption. The governments had been
speaking about restoring a postal link since Obama entered office, but
those talks stalled when Cuba imprisoned U.S. contractor Alan Gross. He
was freed in a prisoner exchange that sparked last year's declaration of
detente.

On other issues, however, the U.S. and Cuba remain far apart.

DeLaurentis cited the billions of dollars in competing property claims,
the status of fugitives in both countries, and Cuban respect for human
rights as outstanding matters of disagreement. On these, he could only
say that Washington and Havana "have started the process of exchanging
views."

The administration also has been trying to get Cuba to make it easier
for Cuban citizens to start private companies, access information online
and benefit from eased American rules for commerce, even if the U.S.
economic embargo on the island remains in effect. Only Congress can
eliminate the embargo.

"More could be done on the Cuban side to take advantage of new
openings," DeLaurentis said.

Source: US, Cuba near deal on restoring direct commercial flights -
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