No person may operate a civil aircraft from the United States to Cuba unless—
(a) Departure is from an international airport of entry designated in § 6.13 of the Air Commerce Regulations of the Bureau of Customs (19 CFR 6.13); and
(b) In the case of departure from any of the 48 contiguous States or the District of Columbia, the pilot in command of the aircraft has filed—
(1) A DVFR or IFR flight plan as prescribed in § 99.11 or § 99.13 of this chapter; and
(2) A written statement, within 1 hour before departure, with the Office of Immigration and Naturalization Service at the airport of departure, containing—
(i) All information in the flight plan;
(ii) The name of each occupant of the aircraft;
(iii) The number of occupants of the aircraft; and
(iv) A description of the cargo, if any.
This section does not apply to the operation of aircraft by a scheduled air carrier over routes authorized in operations specifications issued by the Administrator.