As part of the Administration’s efforts to normalize relations with Cuba, the U.S. and Cuba recently signed a civil aviation accord that will open up new opportunities for American businesses and travelers, including regular flights between the U.S. and Cuba
In a letter to Secretary Foxx, lawmakers urged the Department of Transportation to consider the application of Sun Country Airlines to provide direct flights between Minnesota and Cuban airports serving Havana, Matanzas, and Santa Clara; Sun Country is based in the Twin Cities, and the only airline bidding for direct flights between Minnesota and Cuba
WASHINGTON, DC –Today, Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, along with Representatives Collin Peterson, Betty McCollum, Rick Nolan, Erik Paulsen, and Tom Emmer, urged the U.S. Department of Transportation to consider Sun Country Airlines for the new direct flights to Cuba. As a part of the Administration’s efforts to normalize relations with Cuba, the U.S. and Cuba recently signed a civil aviation accord that will open up new opportunities for American businesses and travelers, including regular flights between the U.S. and Cuba. In a letter to Secretary Foxx, the lawmakers urged the Department of Transportation to consider the application of Sun Country Airlines to provide direct flights between Minnesota and Cuban airports serving Havana, Matanzas, and Santa Clara. Sun Country is based in the Twin Cities, and is the only airline bidding for direct flights between Minnesota and Cuba.
“The recent signing of the U.S. – Cuba civil aviation accord will open up new economic opportunities for American businesses and travelers and paves the way for regular flights between the U.S. and Cuba,” wrote the lawmakers. “These flights will allow Americans to engage with the Cuban people. It is our hope that as you decide which airlines will operate the new daily flights to Cuba and, particularly, the twenty new flights to Havana, you will consider small American businesses like Sun Country Airlines.”
Zarir Erani, Sun Country Airlines President and CEO said, “Sun Country Airlines is proud of the vision and support shown by the Minnesota Congressional Delegation toward the normalization of relations with Cuba. We welcome and appreciate their interest in our Cuba service application, and look forward to opportunities to connect the people of Minnesota with the Cuban people.”
The full text of the letter the lawmakers sent is below:
Dear Secretary Foxx:
We write in support of your efforts to increase commercial air travel to Cuba and in support of the application of Sun Country Airlines to provide direct service between Minneapolis/St. Paul and the Cuban airports serving Havana, Matanzas, and Santa Clara.
The recent signing of the U.S. – Cuba civil aviation accord will open up new economic opportunities for American businesses and travelers and paves the way for regular flights between the U.S. and Cuba. These flights will allow Americans to engage with the Cuban people – who are ahead of their government on economic policy and human rights – and support the hundreds of thousands of small businesses, called cuentapropistas, owned by the people of Cuba.
It is our hope that as you decide which airlines will operate the new daily flights to Cuba and, particularly, the twenty new flights to Havana, you will consider small American businesses like Sun Country Airlines. Granting frequency allocations to smaller air carriers like Sun Country would maximize public benefits by helping ensure that air travel markets between the U.S. and Cuba are not concentrated in the hands of a few, large dominant carriers. Moreover, Sun Country, based in The Twin Cities, has already shown its ability to conduct successful regular flights to Cuba, having provided charter service for Cuba Travel Services for travel to and from Cuba between 2013 and 2015.
Sun Country is the only airline bidding for direct flights between Minnesota and Cuba, and these routes would continue to promote the important economic and cultural interests our state has in Cuba.
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