US, Cuba to talk about normalizing airline service

The U.S. and Cuba are scheduled to hold talks in Havana next week to discuss the possibility of normalizing airline service between the two countries, Reuters reports. 

The Obama administration has already moved to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba, and the countries are scheduled to discuss increasing the number of commercial flights that are offered now that icy relations between the countries are starting to thaw, according to the report. 

{mosads}The move late last year to further normalize relations with Cuba included allowing every type of travel possible under existing legislation, according to administration officials.

The administration cannot completely lift a travel ban, which would require an act of Congress. But the White House said in December 2014 that is “authorizing as much travel as we possibly can.”  

The Obama administration started approving charter flights to Cuba from airports like New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on a case-by-case basis during President Obama’s first term. 

Industry observers have said airlines will be ready to quickly boost the number of Cuba flights if lawmakers ultimately allow them.