Oakland International Airport has requested and received authorization by United States Customs and Border Protection to offer nonstop charter passenger service between the Bay Area and Cuba.
By Patrick Burnson
Published: August, 2011
Oakland International Airport has requested and received authorization by United States Customs and Border Protection to offer nonstop charter passenger service between the Bay Area and Cuba. It is the only Bay Area airport to hold the designation, and flights to Cuba from Oakland will be the first to bridge the Bay Area and the small island nation.
Oakland Airport has partnered with California-based travel company Cuba Travel Services (CTS). CTS expects to begin offering charters for sale to the public beginning in late summer for flights commencing as soon as year-end 2011. We expect the demand for travel to Cuba from the Bay Area to increase substantially over the next year, and CTS is poised and honored to bridge Oakland and Havana, said Michael Zuccato, General Manager of CTS and a Pleasanton native.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who has been a catalyst for the effort to increase ties between the Bay Area and Cuba, noted the significance of this announcement: This new charter is another important step in moving beyond the outdated policies of the past and turning to a new, productive page in U.S.-Cuba relations that hopefully will lead to more travel and exchange with Cuba. I have always believed that people-to-people diplomacy is one of the most effective ways for strengthening ties between two nations. I am hopeful that today’s announcement will lead to many more Bay Area residents taking advantage of the opportunity to directly engage with the Cuban people.
We applaud President Barack Obama and our congressional leadership for loosening restrictions and facilitating U.S. travel between the Bay Area and the beautiful Caribbean island of Cuba, said Port Board President James Head. Offering regular air service eliminates borders and enables Cuban-Americans, businesses and organizations with purposeful travel from the Bay Area to fly to Cuba through Oakland International Airport.
The Bay Area is home to many world class universities as well as community organizations that will benefit from this approval, said Deborah Ale Flint, Director of Aviation for the Port of Oakland. We are pleased to be the San Francisco Bay Area’s designated airport to offer easy access to and from Cuba, she continued.
The decision to allow airports to schedule flights to and from Cuba is part of a broad effort to reach out to the Cuban people for academic, religious, humanitarian and news-gathering purposes as announced by President Obama in January 2011. Prior to this, charter flights to the island nation were only allowed from Los Angeles, Miami and New York-JFK.
AAPA and ITA Agree to Support National Export Initiative
Just as U.S. exports are ramping up comes news that the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) have signed a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) at the Port of Oakland.
This MOI implements the Partnership with America’s Seaports to Further the National Export Initiative (NEI) and supports President Obama’s goal of doubling exports, which was announced during his State of the Union speech in 2010. Under the agreement, ITA and AAPA will partner to coordinate communications, idea exchanges, activities and services that assist U.S. businesses in exporting; and to increase awareness of the available services, trade missions, programs and overseas events that involve U.S. export opportunities.
The Port of Oakland is the major U.S. West Coast outbound ocean cargo gateway for exports. Adjusting for inflation, California’s export trade is as robust as it was prior to the recession, Jock O’Connell, Beacon Economics’ International Trade Adviser, said in an interview.
Signatories to the MOI include Francisco J. Sánchez, Under Secretary, International Trade Administration, United States Department of Commerce and AAPA President and CEO Kurt Nagle.
AAPA and the Department of Commerce share a strong interest and commitment to increasing trading opportunities for U.S. products abroad, said Kurt Nagle, AAPA president and CEO. We believe a collaborative approach between Commerce and America’s seaports is the best way to ensure the success of this important national initiative.
Nagle emphasized that achieving the President’s goal requires both helping our exporters and improving our transportation infrastructure. As recognized by the Export Promotion Cabinet in their report to the President on the NEI, we must improve our transportation infrastructure to fully realize the potential gains from the NEI and to sustain U.S. international competitiveness, said Nagle. This partnership and investments in infrastructure will pave the way towards a prosperous future for all Americans.
