Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–11, Part 1, Documents on Mexico; Central America; and the Caribbean, 1973–1976

326. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Scowcroft) to President Ford¹

Washington, November 18, 1976.

SUBJECT

• Cuban Request for Approval of Overflight for Scheduled Airline Service

As you are aware, we have received a number of requests from the Cubans, dating back to March of this year, for overflight approval of a regularly scheduled Havana-to-Montreal air service. The request is based on reciprocity under the International Air Services Transit Agreement to which both the U.S. and Cuba are parties. Under this agreement, contracting states are bound to accord to one another the right of overflight of scheduled air services without prior permission. Present U.S. airline overflights of Cuba are numerous and commercially significant.

On September 14 the State Department received another note from the Cubans on this matter through the Swiss Embassy (Tab A). The note differs from previous communications in that it requests overflight approval for three round-trip flights per week, rather than two.

Should the Cubans wish to do so, they could use this matter to embarrass us, for example, by publicizing it as a breach of an international agreement by the United States. They could also withdraw overflight approval for the numerous daily U.S. commercial flights currently utilizing their existing approval. It probably is fear of this latter possibility that moved both the U.S. Air Transport Association and Eastern Airlines to write to the State Department earlier in the year urging that the U.S. Government grant the requested overflight approval (Tab B).

There is a possibility, although I consider it remote, that some groups in the U.S. may consider the granting of such approval to “signal a change” in our Cuba policy. Should such a notion arise, I believe that careful handling, based on a clear statement of our obligations under the International Air Services Transit Agreement, can prevent this from becoming an issue.

Recommendation:

That you authorize the State Department to inform the Cubans, through the Swiss diplomatic channel, of our approval of their request for commercially scheduled overflights between Havana and Montreal on the schedule set out in their note of September 14 through an appropriate corridor.

1. Summary: This memorandum recommended Presidential approval of the Cuban request for overflight rights for regularly scheduled commercial air service.

   Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Country Files for Latin America, 1974–1977, Country Files, Box 4, Cuba 9. Confidential. Sent for action. A note on the memorandum reads: “The President has seen.” Ford initialed his approval. Attached but not published is a translation of a September 9 Cuban Foreign Ministry note to the Department of State which reiterated a March 17 request for overflight rights (Tab A). Also attached but not published is an October 12 memorandum from Lazar to Scowcroft reviewing the background of the Cuban request (Tab B).