American Airlines, Latam Airlines Sued Over Seized Cuban Airport

By Mengqi Sun

A U.S. citizen sued two airline companies in a U.S. federal court under a newly revived provision that permits legal action by U.S. citizens or entities against companies doing business on property that was confiscated by the Cuban government.

The suit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, is the latest to come after the Trump administration lifted a suspension of a provision of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act in May. The provision allows certain U.S. nationals with claims to property confiscated by the Cuban government to seek damages from companies operating on that property.

Jose Ramon López Regueiro, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, said American Airlines Inc. and Chile-based Latam Airlines Group SA have benefited from the Cuban airport his father once owned before it was seized by Fidel Castro's government by using its facilities for cargo and passenger transport, according to the complaint.

The airport, now called José Martí International Airport, is Cuba's main domestic and international airport, according to the complaint. Mr. Regueiro, who lives in Miami, is seeking monetary damages from the two airline companies.

"American Airlines service to Cuba including José Martí International Airport in Havana is authorized by the U.S. government including the Department of Transportation and the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control," Joshua Freed, a spokesman for American Airlines, said on Wednesday. "We'll review this lawsuit in detail and vigorously defend our service to Cuba."

Latam Airlines didn't immediately provide a comment.

Mr. Regueiro's father purchased the airport, known at the time as the Rancho-Boyeros Airport, from Pan American Airways for $1.5 million in 1952, the complaint said. His father then modernized the airport by extending the runway and building a new terminal, before it was confiscated by the communist government in 1959, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit is the latest filed since the Title III provision of the federal law was implemented for the first time in 23 years. Since this May, lawsuits have been filed against several companies including cruise operator Carnival Corp., hotel-search company Trivago NV and French bank Société Générale SA.

Write to Mengqi Sun at mengqi.sun@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 25, 2019 18:39 ET (22:39 GMT)

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