US Denies 2 Airlines' Requests To Fly Humanitarian Cargo To Cuba - Transportation Dept.

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th November, 2020) The US refused to exempt two charter airline firms from a ban on flights between the United States and Cuba after the State Department ruled the flights were not eligible for a humanitarian exemption, the Transportation Department said in a press release on Wednesday.

"We received guidance from the Department of State that the applications did not fall within the specified exceptions, and that grant of the requested authority would not be in the foreign policy interests of the United States," the release said. "Accordingly, DOT [Transportation Department] has issued an order denying the requested exemptions."

Skyway Enterprises and IBC Airways, Inc. (IBC) said their proposed flights are humanitarian in nature and therefore should be permitted under the exceptions in the DOT's charter suspension order, the release said.

Both companies requested exemptions from to operate small-aircraft all-cargo charter flights between Miami and Havana, the release added.

The Trump administration largely reversed an opening of commerce between the US and Cuba under the Obama administration, which for a period opened the island to American tourists despite a Cold War-era embargo against the communist ruled island imposed by Congress in the 1960s.