Reg Changes Ease U.S. Part 135 Operations to Cuba

The U.S. Treasury Department continues to relax travel restrictions to Cuba under a rule that will better facilitate temporary sojourns for crewmembers and aircraft operated under Part 135. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), along with the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), published another round of changes in Cuba restrictions in January, including permitting personnel who operate or service aircraft to “to engage in travel-related and other transactions in Cuba to facilitate the temporary sojourn of aircraft and vessels.”

The latest round of changes also permits aircraft operated under Part 135 to remain in Cuba for up to seven days, similar to accommodations made last year for Part 91 aircraft. Government restrictions on length of stay for Part 91 aircraft eased last year. The previous limit was a single overnight stay.

In addition to the crew changes, the new rule, which took effect January 27, removes certain financing restrictions for many authorized exports, eases limits on certain authorized transactions and further relaxes restrictions on exports and re-exports of items necessary for safety of civil aviation, among other changes.

Policy Evolution

The latest changes were the next step in the evolution that has been under way for more than a year to open the door for U.S. travel to Cuba. “Today’s amendments to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations build on successive actions over the last year and send a clear message to the world: the U.S. is committed to empowering and enabling economic advancements for the Cuban people,” Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said.

Over the past year the government eased licensing requirements for aircraft flying to Cuba, as well as the approval process for people traveling there. A change quietly adopted in July exempted most Part 91 aircraft from requirements for specific licenses to travel there. “In the past the aircraft would have to go through an arduous process that could be accurately described as nearly impossible,” said Eric Norber, president of Cuban handling specialist CubaHandling.com. Part 135 operators must still obtain permission to add travel to Havana or other Cuban destinations to their operations specification for travel there.

Earlier last year the U.S. government also eased the approval requirements for travelers. Passengers can now self-certify that their travel meets government guidelines and can travel without undergoing the U.S. government vetting process. The passengers must retain a copy of their itinerary and a self-certified affidavit on the purpose for travel for five years. Passengers also must still obtain a Cuban visa.

Norber cautions that the U.S. government continues to limit travel to Cuba to 12 main purposes (from humanitarian missions to cultural enrichment), and tourism is not among them. Operators must still travel through gateway airports, and file through both the U.S. and Cuban passenger information systems.

In Cuba, operators must obtain landing permits from the Cuban government, pre-arrange handling services through the Cuban state agency, ECASA. The turnaround time for landing permits obtained through handling agencies can be a couple of hours or a day, Norber said, but the handling services might take a little longer to line up. “You can’t just have American permission and go,” Norber said. “You also have to coordinate with the Cuban side of the operation.”

Managing Expectations

Also, he cautions that hotel space remains extremely limited, and quality varies widely. “With the increase in demand they are experiencing, there is a huge bottleneck of lodging,” he said. Most hotels were built decades ago, he notes, adding that the level of quality will not match that found at other Caribbean destinations. Communications and access to the Internet can also be a challenge, he added. Norber further warned, “Cuba is still by and large an all-cash economy.”

With the rapidly evolving U.S. rules and confusion that has resulted from the changes, CubaHandling.com has posted a white paper to “de-mystify” the process, Norber said.

“There are a list of five to ten bureaucratic hoops that need to be known and complied with by operators seeking to go to Cuba, but as long as they understand and comply with the hoops, it is absolutely permissible for Part 135 or 91 operators to fly to Cuba today,” he said.