• Submitted by: manso
• Politics and Government
• 03 / 10 / 2011

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Rachel Krech – Tue Mar 8, 6:44 pm ET. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have announced that an additional eight airports will be allowed to schedule charter flights to Cuba, which includes O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.

Before today, charter flights to and from the island country in the Caribbean were only available through Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. Aside from O'Hare Airport, Customs and Border Protection gave the OK to international airports in Dallas/Fort Worth, New Orleans, Tampa, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, the unincorporated U.S. territory.

Although eleven airports will now host flights to Cuba, officials say that access to these flights will still be limited and that passengers must meet specific travel requirements. However, the new announcement will also allow more people to travel to Cuba for religious and educational purposes.

Back in January, the Obama administration promised to work on loosening travel restrictions for U.S. citizens and make it easier for those who met requirements to travel to Cuba. The U.S. Department of State lists all the current travel requirements and still emphasizes that those traveling should be aware that they could be closely monitored while in Cuba and that the U.S. does not have full diplomatic relations with Cuba.

For Chicago's Cuban population, the charter flights from O'Hare Airport will offer more opportunities for those wishing to visit families. Although the Cuban population in Chicago doesn't compare to that in Miami or Tampa, FL, the Windy City has around 14,000 Cuban-Americans, making up 0.5 percent of the population. Many Cuban-Americans still have family and friends remaining in the country.

Adriana Perez, a third generation Cuban-American and college student, said, "I haven't been to Cuba but I've been hoping to as part of my college degree in Latin American Studies and Spanish. I've already traveled to Guatemala and Colombia, but of course the chance to visit Cuba and discover my background first hand would be an amazing chance. I think that opening up more airports to have flights will give people, especially students like me, to travel to Cuba for whatever reason."

For anyone interested in finding more information about travel to Cuba, visit the U.S. Department of State's website, which gives detailed information about travel requirements and other procedures.

Rachel Krech provides an in-depth look at current environmental issues and local Chicago news stories. As a college student from the Chicago suburbs pursuing two science degrees, she applies her knowledge and passion to both topics to garner further public awareness.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110308/tr_ac/8021640