Cuba flights spark security concerns

Cuba flights spark security concerns
Bart Jansen, USA TODAY 5:32 p.m. EDT July 12, 2016

WASHINGTON – A trio of House lawmakers introduced legislation Tuesday to
block flights the Transportation Department has approved between Cuba
and the U.S. because of security concerns that the direct flights will
ease the flow of bombs and terrorists to the U.S.

Dozens of daily flights to 10 Cuban cities are scheduled to begin in
September for the first time in 50 years. The flights are part of a
diplomatic thaw President Obama initiated to restore relations with the
island 90 miles from Florida. American Airlines has already begun
selling tickets.

The Transportation Security Administration, which is part of the
Department of Homeland Security, must certify that Cuban authorities
meet standards for screening passengers and luggage before direct
flights begin. TSA is working on its security review of the Cuban
airports and plans to complete that assessment before the
scheduled flights begin.

"American only flies non-stop from foreign airports that are inspected
and cleared by the TSA for last-point-of-departure flights to the United
States," said Ross Feinstein, an airline spokesman.

But Reps. John Katko, R-N.Y.; Richard Hudson, R-N.C.; and Henry Cuellar,
D-Texas, want to block the flights until the TSA certifies that Cuba has
the screening equipment and airport worker training to meet U.S.
security standards. The bill asks the Government Accountability Office
to confirm that Cuba meets the standards.

The lawmakers also want an agreement to allow air marshals, who fly
undercover and are armed to thwart terrorists, on the flights.

"You've got a potential nightmare on your hands," said Katko, who noted
a flood of fraudulent Cuban passports in the Mideast and the communist
government's long-time hostility to the U.S. "I'd rather have
inconvenience than a tragedy."

Hudson represents an American Airlines hub in Charlotte, which received
one of the daily flights to Havana. But he worried that Cuban airports
don't have proper screening or explosive detection equipment and can't
identify fake documents.

"The health and viability of that company is very important to me, but
the security of Americans is more important to me," Hudson said.

TSA declined comment Tuesday because the legislation is pending.

The dispute is urgent because the Transportation Department tentatively
approved this month 20 daily flights to Havana. Last month, the
department approved another 151 weekly flights to nine other
destinations: Camaguey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Cienfuegos, Holguin,
Manzanillo, Santa Clara, Santiago de Cuba and Varadero.

Havana's Jose Marti International Airport, the busiest destination for
visitors, has three terminals — one for domestic flights, one for
international flights and one specifically for U.S. travelers. Terminal
2, as the U.S. terminal is officially known, is a sparse, rudimentary
building that has been undergoing renovations to accommodate more
passengers.

The terminal currently has one, cramped bank of check-in counters, one
row of customs officers checking visas and passports and two metal
detectors and X-ray machines to screen people and their carry-on bags
before boarding their U.S.-bound flights. One Cuban official sits to the
side to certify whether travelers have paid their taxes on pieces of art
they're taking with them, and two stores sell Cuban rum and cigars to
travelers.


USA TODAY
Cuba refuses visas for House members

The lawmakers, who tried to visit the Cuban airports in June but
couldn't get visas, said their concerns focus on a lack of TSA oversight
at the 10 airports.

At a May hearing, Larry Mizell, the TSA official in the Caribbean with
an office in the Bahamas, said he had visited only seven of the 10 Cuban
airports by that time. Mizell wouldn't discuss equipment or security
standards at the airports in a public meeting.

Seth Stodder, the department's assistant secretary for border,
immigration and trade policy, said an agreement was still being
negotiated to have air marshals on flights.

Paul Fujimura, assistant administrator for global strategies at the
Department of Homeland Security, said inspectors found Cuba meets
standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization, a branch of
the United Nations.

Fujimura said charter flights have been operating from six airports for
years under ICAO standards and "we are completely comfortable with the
security standards that are being met on those flights."

Katko and Hudson said ICAO standards alone are too lax after bombings at
two airports without direct flights to the U.S. A Russian Metrojet was
destroyed over Egypt in October, and a Daallo Airlines flight in
February in Somalia had a hole blown in the side of the plane, both from
explosives suspected of being smuggled aboard by airport workers.

"They met international standards in Sharm el-Sheikh and Mogadishu, too,
so that doesn't mean anything," Katko said.

Contributing: Alan Gomez.

Source: Cuba flights spark security concerns -
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/07/12/cuba-flights-security-tsa-dot/86997376/