Regular U.S.-Cuba flights begin soon
If you are aching for a vacation of sunbathing and banana daiquiris in Cuba, you may not have to wait too much longer.
Meetings were scheduled last week between U.S. and Cuban officials to reopen regular commercial flights between the two nations, according to the White House. For now, U.S. travelers can fly to Cuba only on charter flights for education, humanitarian efforts and professional research, among other permitted reasons.
Industry experts say U.S. airlines are eager to begin regular flights to the island nation, serving routes that are sure to be in high demand, particularly from Cuban-Americans around Miami and Los Angeles.
Cuba’s largest airports are equipped to welcome international flights from other countries, and security measures for travelers on charter flights to the U.S. already meet federal standards, according to industry experts.
The biggest concerns may be how to regulate the launch of new U.S. flights so that they don’t overwhelm Cuban airports.
“Cuba may want a crawl-walk-run approach to resuming service,” said Henry H. Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst and founder of Atmosphere Research.
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The airlines that are most likely to capitalize on regular service to Cuba may be American Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines, which have large hub operations in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
Record number of guns found in carry-ons
If you think that in the 14 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Americans have learned that commercial airline passengers are not allowed to carry a weapon on board, think again.
In the week that ended Sept. 18, the Transportation Security Administration collected 67 firearms from airline passengers, a new weekly record that surpassed the previous high of 65 firearms uncovered in May 2013.
Also surprising about TSA’s latest firearm haul is that 56 of the guns were loaded, and 26 had a round chambered.
Based on the number of firearms discovered by the TSA through August (1,898), 2015 is on pace to break last year’s annual record of 2,212 firearms.
Fliers can travel with firearms in checked baggage, but they must first be declared to the airline.
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Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times