U.S. Government Eases Certain Air Crew Limits in Cuba

The U.S. Treasury Department continues to relax travel restrictions to Cuba under a rule that will better facilitate temporary sojourns for aircraft crew members. 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 today’s Federal Register, 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.”

Government restrictions on length of stay for aircraft eased last year. Authorized aircraft operators are now permitted to keep their aircraft in the island nation for up to seven days, NBAA confirmed in October. The previous limit was a single overnight stay. The U.S. government also previously had eliminated the requirement for an advance temporary sojourn license.

In addition to the crew changes, the new rule, which takes effect today, removes certain financing restrictions for many authorized exports, eases limits on certain authorized transactions, further relaxes restrictions on exports and re-exports of items necessary for safety of civil aviation, expands the list of permitted reasons for travel to Cuba and further facilitates commercial air carrier service, among other changes.

“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.