古巴準備迎接第一架美國航班的到來

Cuba is preparing for the first U.S. commercial flight to land in the communist country in more than five decades, the latest step in normalizing relations between the two nations.

The president of the Cuban Civil Aviation Institute, Alfredo Cordero, said Cuba will be ready for this week's flight as well as the influx of U.S. flights -- expected to grow to as many as 110 per day within the next several years.

"We have successfully prepped our personnel and, in acquiring access to the necessary resources, we are now able to ensure we meet the required level of security demanded by international civil aviation standards," Cordero said.

Cuba's Vice Minister of Transportation Eduardo Rodriguez echoed those comments, saying "Cuban airports have been systematically preparing over the past few years for the increase in tourists to Cuba."

The first U.S. commercial flight will take place Wednesday when Jet Blue will fly from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to the central Cuban city of Santa Clara.

Other U.S. air carries that are planning to begin airline service to Cuba include American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Silver Airways, Southwest Airlines and Sun Country Airlines.

U.S. law still prohibits most tourist visits to Cuba. However, President Barack Obama has authorized exceptions for other types of travel, including family visits, official business, journalist visits and educational tours.古巴正在爲半個多世紀以來第一架美國商業航班在這個共產黨國家着陸做準備，這是兩國關係正常化的最新一步。

古巴民航學院的負責人科爾德羅說，古巴將爲本週的航班以及紛至沓來的美國航班做好準備。預計今後幾年內每天航班將增至110架次。

他說：“我們已經成功地對做好了人員準備，在獲取足夠資源的情況下，我們現在可以保證達到國際民航標準所需要的安全水平。”

古巴副交通部長羅德里格斯表達了同樣的意思。他說：“過去幾年，古巴機場一直在爲遊客的增加進行系統化的準備。”

美國捷藍航空公司的飛機星期三將從佛羅里達州的勞德代爾飛往古巴的聖克拉拉，成爲第一架飛往古巴的美國商業航班。

包括美航、邊疆、銀色、西南和太陽城在內的其它美國航空公司正在計劃提供飛往古巴的業務， 美國法律禁止大多數美國遊客訪問古巴。但是，奧巴馬總統授權其它形式的旅遊除外，例如探親、公務、記者訪問和教育之旅等。