TIA Flights To Cuba: Another Inevitable Step

Let’s give credit where credit is due–but let’s not overdo it yet.

Thanks to an eminently sensible decision by the Obama Administration via U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Tampa International Airport has now been designated “gateway” status (along with Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and San Juan) for direct flights to Cuba. The incumbent “gateways” are in Miami, New York and Los Angeles. Given that the Tampa Bay area, home to more than 80,000 Cuban-Americans, is the third largest such demographic in the country, it just makes sense. Especially in the aftermath of the Administration’s 2009 move to lift many of the travel restrictions to Cuba.

Locals should not have to travel to Miami to fly to Cuba. Now, starting this summer or fall, they won’t.

Good for all those directly impacted, and good for this area and international flight-challenged TIA. And it will only grow. South Florida has been averaging more than 300,000 travelers flying to Cuba through Miami International. It is estimated that nearly a third are from the Tampa Bay region. “Once people know we are an international community, we can build off that,” underscored TIA Director Joe Lopiano.

This ruling applies largely to Cuban-Americans (who have had money-transfer as well as family-visit curbs lifted) plus those traveling to Cuba for educational, cultural or religious activities–as well as those traveling for medical or agricultural business.

The bottom line: This largely undoes what the Bush Administration had done. But surely the goal is beyond hurdling a geopolitical bar set that low.

Now what about everybody else? Uncategorized Americans can travel to, say, Iran but not Cuba. This makes as much sense as including Cuba (circa Cold War) on this country’s official State Sponsors of Terrorism list. The other SST members: Sudan, Syria and — Iran. Obviously a lot more Administration work remains in restoring a basic American right to travel beyond our own shores, including to a non-threatening destination 90 miles away.

And notice the stark contrast in responses to the TIA announcement from U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Little Havana, who actually tried to prevent this common-sense change, and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, who worked to implement it.

Clinging to the SST cover, Rubio disingenuously sniffed that “Increasing direct or charter aircraft flights with state sponsors of terrorism is totally irresponsible.” (Note the operative verb “increasing.” Direct flights from Miami would have remained had Rubio prevailed with his recent FAA funding-bill amendment.) Reportedly, no members of the Ros-Lehtinen or Diaz-Balart families were disappointed with either his FAA effort or his TIA-inclusion characterization.

And ironically, any person-to-person increase between those stuck on the Castros’ island and those coming from its ideological opposite on the American mainland would be helpful for inroads of change. It’s what increased contact with the outside world always induces, including a freer flow of information. All but the chauvinistic, South Florida family-feuders see the connection.

As for Castor, she saw this as a win-win for Tampa Bay. “This is great news for our community, our economy and the Cuban-American families who for years had to endure the burden and cost of traveling through Miami,” she noted.

State Role

But while so much of Cuban policy necessarily emanates out of Washington, some of it is actually home grown. For example, the Florida Legislature’s passage of the law that bars academics at Florida’s public universities and colleges from going to Cuba, even if they use private funds. That was in 2006 — three years before the Obama Administration began liberalizing Bush-era travel restrictions.

While the 2011 Legislature is charged with cost-cutting and budget-balancing to square a $3.6-billion deficit, here’s hoping that it can find the time and priorities necessary to repeal the ban on academics visiting Cuba. How “Floriduh” to have the Obama Administration allowing more Floridians to visit Cuba and fly out of TIA even as this state restricts is academics from doing so.

But it won’t, obviously, be easy in this Legislature. Recall who sponsored the academic travel ban in 2006. Florida Senate President — and, more importantly, 2012 GOP U.S. Senate candidate — Mike Haridopolos. Yeah, THAT Mike Whoreadopolis, who has been on a Rick Scott and tea party pander-bender since changing his mind on high-speed rail.

Perfect Storm

For two generations too many Florida politicians have considered Cuban issues as a political third rail.  That meant letting Little Havana continue to dictate U.S. foreign policy and not making waves unless they wanted to incur unnecessary political wrath. If playing it politically compliant and safe meant being complicit in counter-productive geopolitical and humanitarian policies, so be it.

But with real civilizational enemies, more political clout along I-4 than in South Florida and a recession that has hammered Florida, there’s even less reason to still maintain a Cold War policy vis-a-vis Cuba.

More America-to-Cuba travel means more interaction means more hope. It also accelerates the inevitable end of the economic embargo. History beckons whether the Rubios and Haridopoloses heed it or not. Call it the approaching perfect storm. Imagine, doing the right thing for humanitarian reasons is also the right geopolitical, economic and democracy-advancing thing to do as well.