Priester Wins U.S. Government Approval for Cuba Ops

Priester Aviation has secured U.S. government approval for flights to Cuba. The Part 135 charter provider worked through the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, along with its local Flight Standard District Office in Chicago and FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C., to meet all the necessary requirements. The FAA added Cuba to Priester’s Ops Specs, paving the way for the charter and management company to operate to and from Cuba.

The approval comes after the U.S. government issued regulations earlier this year to ease certain processes involving the travel restrictions between the U.S. and Cuba. NBAA called the changes “historic in terms of future diplomatic relations between the two countries,” but warned the regulations are a limited first step in the longstanding economic sanctions. “Cuba is not open for U.S. business or U.S. investment, and U.S. citizens remain prohibited from traveling to Cuba as tourists.” 

The changes, however, improve the time it takes to obtain approval for the 12 permitted travel categories. Permitted travel to Cuba includes official government business, humanitarian efforts and family visits, among others. Priester must obtain permits for each flight, operate only at certain airports there and can drop off and/or pick up passengers only in Cuba. Priester acknowledged that it hasn’t experienced a huge demand for such flights, but vice president of marketing Corey Ruffolo said, “We want to be in a position that allows our clients to be restriction free.” However, Ruffolo added that since announcing Cuba approval late last week, “We have noticed an increase in flight requests.”