The U.S. Senate today rejected freshman Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) amendment to bar any additional flights between the U.S. and Cuba, tampabay.com reports.
Rubio, in perhaps his first significant measure since entering the Senate, failed in his bid to attach the amendment to an Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) funding bill.
Rubio’s amendment, had it been successful, would have run counter to the Obama administration’s recent relaxation of travel restrictions for college students, religious and cultural groups, on which several Florida airports, other that Miami hope to capitalize.
Fort Lauderdale, Key West and Orlando have plans to take advance of the freer movement of people and seek federal permission to establish direct flights to Cuba, thus tapping into the growing market of Cuban-American travel market.
Tampa, earlier this month, applied for similar approval from the FAA.
