Unequal treatment of traffic to islands
USA and UK have completed the signature of the air transport agreement, with secretary of transportation Elaine L. Chao (photo) and secretary of state Mike Pompeo signing for the USA.
Including the UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, it meets all the criteria of the US open skies policy and provides for additional traffic rights for US all-cargo operations to and from UK.
The agreement however does not apply for US cargo flights to Cuba, suspended since 13 October. Skyway Enterprises and IBC Airways asserted that their proposed flights are humanitarian in nature and therefore should be permitted under the exceptions provided for under the charter suspension order of the department of transport. But guidance from the department of state said that the applications did not fall within these specifications. (ah)