US government forces a European airline to stop flying to Cuba
12 07 2007Two days ago Mario Hidalgo, CEO of the Spanish airline “Hola Airlines“ , announced that Hola Airlines (Baleares Link Express SL) has been obliged by the US government to stop its operations in Cuba .
The US Government threatened Hola Airlines via Boeing to end the service of maintenance of the Boeing aircraft belonging to the carrier. As its fleet is entirely composed of Boeing aircrafts, Hola Airlines has been forced to give up its operation in the Carribean Island overnight.
The US government applies the 1996 Helms-Burton Act that prevent non north-American countries from trading with Cuba by penalizing foreign companies.
The Helms-Burton Act was condemned by the Council of Europe, the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Argentina and other U.S. allies that enjoy normal trade relations with Cuba.
Mario Hidalgo made it clear that this decision goes totally against the company’s will: “This decision is unfair, specially for Cuban people” and added he was “against US politics towards Cuba.”
Well Mario Hidalgo is an idiot – none of his business – he can go to cuba all he wants just dont come here
This policies are incredible. The way in wich they have accomplished their goal.
Anyway, It’s my first comment here, good blog, keep it up!
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Think Mr. Hidalgo has other reasons for stoping the service and is using the US as a scapegoat. He can fly anywhere he wants from Spain, with US-made or European-made airplanes.
Boeing is not an arm of the US government and withholds international flight certification of airplanes only when they are not maintained to international standards (this is an insurance issue for Boeing).
Seems like Hidalgo is stirring up some anti-US sentiment to cover up something.
Washington claims it’s the world center of “freedom”, but it doesn’t allow its own citizens the freedom to travel to Cuba. Beyond that, it tries to prevent people from other countries, who aren’t citizens of the U.S., and who don’t live in the United States, from visiting Cuba.
Cubans who live in the United States can only visit their relatives in Cuba once every THREE YEARS, and then only the closest relatives as designated by the federal government. Supposed you are a Cuban living in the U.S. and your mother was your last living relative in Cuba. Your mother dies. Under U.S. law, you are forbidden to attend your mother’s FUNERAL.
My father and his parents lived in Cuba during World War II when the U.S. was in no hurry to admit German Jewish refugees from Hitler’s Holocaust to enter the United States. That family history has been part of my life ever since, though I was born, and conceived, in the United States.
I operate a Yahoo news group on Cuba, with lots of information, favorable and not, which readers interested in Cuba may find informative.
Thanks for having this blog.
Sincerely yours,
Walter Lippmann
http://www.walterlippmann.com
Does not supprise me at all,why so much trouble over a tiny Island 90miles off the coast Florida .
George H.W.Bush/Zapata Corporation owned a controlling interest in United Fruit; Company holdings in Cuba, which included sugar mills in the Oriente region of the island, were expropriated by the 1959 revolutionary government led by Fidel Castro. By April 1960 Castro was accusing the company of aiding Cuban exiles and supporters of former leader Fulgencio Batista in initiating a seaborn invasion of Cuba directed from the United States. Castro warned the U.S. that “Cuba is not another Guatemala” in one of many combative diplomatic exchanges before the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961. Despite significant economic pressure on Cuba, the company was unable to recoup cost and compensation from the Cuban government. Also, Castro kicked the Mafia out of Havana. This is why we are told to hate Cuba, and this is why we bully the rest of the world into aiding our policy of impoverishing the Cuban people and destroying their economy. Greed, revenge, and selfishness.
There’s another warning to the world: Don’t buy American products! Otherwise you may be forced to dance to the Neocon tune.
Fascism will bankrupt us all, if it doesn’t imprison us first.
Do you realize how useful is this buzz to Hidalgo’s unknown company ?
I had no idea this airline existed, they just found a cheap way to promote their brand, from a more profitable country (Spain), and all anti-americans on their side.
There is a reason why American Goverment decided to it, and must visit Cuba to realize that doing business in Cuba, means doing business with a dictatorial goverment, therefore giving that unfair goverment a longer life.
You have to really tip your hat to Castro. He has managed to keep the country together while being under constant attack from the super power of the world which is only 80 miles off his coastline.
Kudos Fidel, Kudos
Yes Michael, the entire country is together… otherwise death penalty is an option.
Albert
“There is a reason why American Goverment decided to it, and must visit Cuba to realize that doing business in Cuba, means doing business with a dictatorial goverment, therefore giving that unfair goverment a longer life.”
Harsh but very true Albert. If there was another way then we’d probably have done something by now… I hope!
I believe he is leaving Cuba for other reasons and cover its actions with this. If it was true, what about Air Frace, Iberia, British… all of them use Boeing airplanes to fly to Cuba… and until now no problem.
To those that think Cuba is so grat and the US so bad, live in Cuba for awhile and make the same comments about what you don’t like about Cuba or Castro. It will be the last thing you say in public of your own free will.
Contrary to the quote from Hidalgo, the US goverrnment told Boeing engineers they could not go to Cuba to service planes. Boeing told Hola AL that they could only service the plane, once is was out of Cuba. That is hardly telling Hola they cannot fly to Cuba or using Beoing to “threaten” them.
I have to laugh at those of you who so freely and happily criticize the US, while believing every rant printed in a blog so long as it is anti-American. At the same time, you would not be free to do so in Castro’s Cubal or Chavez’s Venezuela. Keep drinking the Kool-aid!
very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce
U.S. Goverment is the biggest terrorist and threat to the entire planet. No other comments
[...] Hola Airlines has been forced to give up its operation in the Carribean Island overnight. US government forces a European airline to stop flying to Cuba | Blog on travel: Decrypting the Onli… Doesn’t make much sense. Pretty soon they’ll probably sell all their Boeings and buy Airbuses. [...]
I think this was really a very wrong decision and would definitely affect the relation between the US government and European countries. one can really not understand that why the US government has taken this step.