Jun 2, 2022 - World

U.S. lifts Trump-era flight restrictions on Cuba

Axios

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference in the Benjamin Franklin room of the State Department on June 01, 2022 in Washington, DC. — Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference at the State Department on Wednesday. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The U.S. Transportation Department lifted Trump-era flight restrictions to Cuba on Wednesday.

Why it matters: The move making U.S.-Cuba travel easier is part of a wider Biden administration drive to bolster support for the Cuban people, one year after the largest anti-government protests on the island in decades occurred, per Axios' Shawna Chen.

Driving the news: Secretary of State Anthony Blinken sent a letter to the Transportation Department requesting it lift the restrictions on U.S. airline and chartered flights from going to Cuban cities (other than Havana), "in support of the Cuban people and in the foreign policy interests of the United States."

Once the department had done this, "scheduled and charter air services between the United States and Cuban airports may resume effective immediately," and the agency did so on Wednesday, per AP.

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U.S. lifts Trump-era flight restrictions on Cuba

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