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U.S. bars airline flights to all Cuban airports except Havana from December 10

26 October 2019 07:23 (UTC +04:00)

The U.S. government said on Friday it would bar U.S. airlines from flying to all destinations in Cuba besides Havana starting on Dec. 10 as the Trump administration boosts pressure on the Cuban government, APA reports quoting Reuters.

The U.S. Transportation Department said in a notice it was taking the action at the request of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to “further the administration’s policy of strengthening the economic consequences to the Cuban regime for its ongoing repression of the Cuban people and its support for Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.”

The move will bar U.S. air carrier flights to any of the nine international airports in Cuba other than Havana and impact about 8 flights a day.

The prohibition does not impact charter flights. There are no foreign air carriers providing direct scheduled flights between the United States and Cuba.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said in a tweet that his country strongly condemned the move and that it “strengthened restrictions on U.S. travel to Cuba and its citizens’ freedoms.”