Delta Air Lines requests dismissal of lawsuit regarding use of the airport in Cuba

Delta Air Lines requested a U.S. federal court to dismiss the lawsuit filed against it under Title III of the Helms-Burton Act for operating flights to José Martí International Airport in Havana.

The airline filed a motion on April 28th before the Southern District Court of Florida, stating that the claim made by José Ramón López Regueiro "is legally blocked on multiple levels" and lacks legal basis.

The plaintiff accuses Delta of "trafficking" in properties confiscated in Cuba by using the Havana airport, under the Libertad Act (Helms-Burton), which allows for claims in U.S. courts for properties nationalized after the Cuban Revolution.

However, the company argued that the United States government explicitly authorized its regular flights to Havana since 2016, so its operations were carried out in accordance with U.S. federal policy.

“The activities described in the lawsuit correspond only to legal trips to Cuba authorized by federal orders,” Delta stated in the court document.

The airline also stated that López Regueiro would have acquired any possible rights to the property after the legal deadline of March 12, 1996, which would invalidate his claim. According to Delta, documents attached to the complaint itself show that the plaintiff did not have control over the alleged claim before 2010.

Another central argument of the defense is that Delta holds a claim certified by the U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (FCSC) related to properties confiscated in Cuba, including offices at Havana Airport, following the nationalizations carried out by the Cuban government in 1962.

The company asserted that the Helms-Burton Act was specifically designed to protect holders of certified claims and not to allow lawsuits against it by individuals with uncertified claims.

Additionally, Delta challenged the constitutionality of the Helms-Burton judicial mechanism itself, arguing that Congress cannot create a cause of action whose enforcement can be suspended at the discretion of the President of the United States.

The lawsuit against Delta is part of a series of litigations initiated in U.S. courts under Title III of the Helms-Burton Act against companies involved in operations on properties nationalized by the regime in Cuba.