Port Authority boss asks United to reconsider Cuba flights

Port Authority boss asks United to reconsider Cuba flights
BY DAVID PORTER
Associated Press

NEW YORK
The head of the agency that runs New Jersey's main airport has joined
with the state's governor in seeking to stop United Airlines from
launching flights from there to Cuba until a woman convicted of killing
a state trooper is returned to the United States.

A day after Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called on Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey Chairman John Degnan to reject
service to Cuba, Degnan sent a letter to acting United CEO Brett Hart on
Thursday urging United to reconsider.

Christie said in a letter to Degnan that flight service to Cuba is
"unacceptable" until fugitive Joanne Chesimard is extradited, and Degnan
agreed.

"As a former attorney general of New Jersey, who was appalled at the
Cuban government's provision of sanctuary to Joanne Chesimard, I shared
his sentiments," Degnan wrote.

Degnan said after a Port Authority board meeting in New York on Thursday
that U.S. Customs and Border Protection, not the Port Authority, has the
ultimate power to approve flights.

Chicago-based United Airlines has expressed interest in launching flight
service from Newark Liberty International Airport to Cuba, as the U.S.
continues to loosen travel restrictions as part of an effort to
normalize relations between the nations.

United intends to request the flights once an agreement is reached
between the nations under which airlines can apply to begin commercial
air service, United spokesman Rahsaan Johnson said Wednesday. Asked
about Christie's letter, Johnson said, "We remain very interested in
serving Cuba as soon as we are able to do so and believe United's
service would benefit the airport and the region."

He said United had received Degnan's letter but had no comment beyond
the earlier statement.

Chesimard was convicted in 1977 in the death of Trooper Werner Foerster
during a gunfight after being stopped on the New Jersey Turnpike in
1973. She was sentenced to life in prison but escaped and made her way
to Cuba, where Fidel Castro granted her asylum and she has been living
under the name Assata Shakur.

Christie, whose campaign for the Republican presidential nomination has
had trouble gaining traction in a crowded field, has been a vocal critic
of improved relations between the U.S. and Cuba, especially President
Barack Obama's decision to remove Cuba from a U.S. terrorism blacklist.

Christie appointed Degnan to chair the Port Authority last year after
former chairman David Samson resigned amid investigations into the
agency, which runs area bridges, tunnels and transit hubs. Degnan served
as New Jersey's attorney general from 1978 to 1981.

Source: Port Authority boss asks United to reconsider Cuba flights | The
Tribune - http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/business/article40977132.html