Cuba vows tight airport security for US flights

Cuba said Thursday there is "nothing to fear" regarding security as direct flights resume between the communist island and the United States, part of their historic rapprochement.

With regular commercial flights set to resume in the coming weeks, Cuba's aging airports are under scrutiny after more than half a century of isolation from the United States during which only charter flights were permitted.

"I can responsibly assure you that the level of security at our airport installations complies with world standards, including the standards of the United States. There is nothing to fear," said Cuba's head of civil aviation security, Armando Garbalosa.

In an interview with Cuban news site Cubadebate, Garbalosa accused Republican lawmakers in the United States of badmouthing Cuba's aviation security. He said that US officials had been inspecting Cuban airports for 15 years.

Washington and Havana agreed in February to restore direct commercial flights, one of the watershed changes initiated in December 2014 when Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro announced a thaw after more than 50 years of Cold War hostility.

Commercial flights between the two countries were suspended 53 years ago, though charter service has been allowed since the 1970s.

At least eight US airlines have been authorized to operate US-Cuban routes, with the first flights expected in September.

The United States still maintains the economic and financial embargo it has imposed on Cuba since 1962.