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Cuba-U.S. relations

Report: U.S., Cuba reach deal to resume commercial flights

Alan Gomez
USA TODAY

MIAMI - U.S. and Cuban officials reached an understanding late Wednesday to restore commercial flights between the two countries, according to the Associated Press.

In this Nov. 1, 2001, file photo, the first passengers of the first flight of Continental Airlines from Miami arrives at the Jose Marti Airport of Havana, Cuba. The United States and Cuba have reached an understanding on restoring regularly scheduled commercial flights, Cuban and American officials said Dec. 16, 2016.

The announcement comes nearly one year to the day after President Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro announced that the longtime foes would re-establish diplomatic relations.

The two sides have made many changes since that Dec. 17, 2014, announcement: reopening embassies in each others' capitals and striking new business deals in the medical, tourism and communications fields. But Wednesday's agreement would mark the most significant step yet in the rush to restore normalized relations.

The Obama administration has changed rules in the past year to make traveling to Cuba easier for Americans, but it's far more complicated than booking a flight to most other places in the world. All travelers to and from Cuba must use charter flights that are carefully monitored by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Travelers must present their visas, identification and payment information to charter agents who handle the flights, and all travelers must certify that their trip falls under one of 12 categories approved by the federal government.

The agreement reportedly reached by U.S. and Cuban officials on Wednesday in Washington would create a system that is more familiar to travelers. That may include the ability to book a trip through a Web portal and eliminate the long-standing practice of checking in four hours before each flight.

Officials told the AP that the understanding could be finalized in the coming days. Once the deal is in place, commercial flights could start up in 2016. The U.S. State Department and Cuban embassy in Washington, D.C., did not respond immediately to USA TODAY requests for comment.

One year later: What's changed -- and what hasn't -- in U.S.-Cuba relations

Several U.S. airlines have already expressed interest in handling the Cuba-bound flights. American Airlines already runs many of the charter flights there from Miami, New York and Los Angeles. JetBlue has added flights in recent months in anticipation of regularly-scheduled commercial flights.

The flight deal follows other developments in recent weeks that should make traveling to, and communicating with, Cuba far easier for people in the U.S. The two governments agreed to start a pilot program to send mail directly between the two countries after decades of shipping items through other countries, such as Canada and Mexico. MasterCard and Florida-based Stonegate Bank also announced the first U.S.-issued debit card eligible for use in Cuba, easing the long-standing requirement that U.S. travelers to Cuba pay for everything in cash.

The U.S. still maintains an economic embargo on Cuba, which bars most trade and travel to Cuba. Only Congress can end or alter the embargo, and Republicans in Congress have said they won't do so until there are major changes in the communist-run government in Cuba.

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