“Today’s actions are the result of months of work by airlines, cities, the US government, and many others toward delivering on President Obama’s promise to reengage with Cuba”, said US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
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“Today’s actions are the result of months of work by airlines, cities, the US government, and many others toward delivering on President Obama’s promise to reengage with Cuba”, said Secretary Foxx.
The occasion marked not only the first U.S. scheduled commercial flight since the 1960s, but also the first time an American carrier has operated a scheduled commercial jetliner between the USA and Cuba, as United States airlines only flew propeller-powered aircraft to the Caribbean island before the embargo began.
Delta Vacations will offer Cuba travel packages later this year. This week’s announcement comes almost two months after six U.S. airlines were granted permission to fly to nine Cuban cities other than Havana.
By the end of the year, some 20 USA flights per day will arrive at Havana’s Jose Martí worldwide airport from key hubs such as Miami, Atlanta, New York, Houston and Los Angeles.
Other authorized airlines are Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Sun Country Airlines lines, which will begin operations in the winter season, but none include the Havana as their destination because they still need permission from US authorities.
The Department’s principal objective in making its selections was to maximize public benefits, including choosing airlines that offered and could maintain the best service between the USA and Havana. This new arrangement will facilitate visits for travelers that fall under one of 12 categories authorized by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
You simply pay for your ticket (which in the past, at least, was a cash transaction), fill out a form at the airport affirming you are not an American, and step on board for one of the most expensive flights you will ever take, per mile or per minute. At the time of the signing, the administration announced that scheduled service would begin later in 2016.
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Delta flights between New York-JFK and Havana will connect the New York City area, home to the second largest Cuban-American population, to Cuba’s political, cultural and economic capital.
