What to Know
- Four members of Congress have introduced a bill that would halt plans for future commercial flights between the U.S. and Cuba.
Several members of Congress are worried about potential security concerns on flights from Cuba to the United States and want any potential plans for those flights to stop until tests can be conducted.
Four U.S. Representatives – three Republicans and one Democrat – are calling for a halt to recently announced commercial flights between U.S. cities, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale, and the island nation.
Ten cities were approved last week to run round trip flights to Cuba on one of the six airlines that received approval to begin operation. The flights are expected to start sometime in the fall.
The Congressional members cite worries about Cuba’s security infrastructure and want to make sure that Cuba’s airports have adequate security in place according to U.S standards. They also want the TSA has had a chance to certify those standards have been met.
Commercial flight plans were seen as one of the biggest steps for the Obama administration since the December 2014 announcement that the United States was going to thaw relations between the neighbors, eventually with the goal of returning them to normal.
The legislation is likely not going to go far, as politicians on both sides of the aisle seem to be warming to the idea of restoring relations completely between the countries.
