Regular commercial airline flights to Cuba from Tampa International Airport will improve travel for families and will boost economic and cultural ties between our two countries. Foxx said he was expecting to announce the first dates for Havana later in the day.
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Cheers broke out as the first commercial flight from the United States to Cuba landed yesterday, restarting air service to the island nation after a half-century hiatus begun at the height of the Cold War.
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It will be a busy weeklong trip for Gonzalez, a surgery nurse in Orlando.
Since then, he said, “I’ve never been in my country”.
Nimaris Niebla-Gonzalez with her fiancée, Mario Martinez, and their two daughters, Daniella, 3, and Olivia, 10 months. Cuba’s cash-starved centrally planned economy has been bolstered by the boom in USA visitors, along with hundreds of thousands of travelers from other nations hoping to see Cuba before more Americans arrive.
In June, the Transportation Department gave airlines approval to schedule flights to other cities in Cuba for the first time in decades. After an hour-long flight, it will land in central Cuba’s Santa Clara, 175 miles east of Havana. Among them are Silver Airways, a commuter airline, which will begin offering three weekly flights to Santa Clara starting Thursday; and American Airlines Group (AAL), which is scheduled to begin service on September 7.
The constant flow of aircraft is one of the most crucial elements of Barack Obama’s policy to rekindle the relations between Cuba and the U.S. -Cuban relations and loosening of restrictions on travel to the Communist-run island have led to a surge in US visitors, up 93 percent from previous year, according to Cuban government figures.
The door is not yet completely open, USA citizens still need to sign an affidavit swearing their travel falls within permitted categories, including educational, religious, and humanitarian reasons, according to a CNN report.
Critics of the detente argue the Obama administration has won few human rights concessions from President Raul Castro in exchange for allowing hotel chains, cruise lines and at least one USA bank to ramp up operations on the island.
U.S. transport secretary Anthony Foxx was among the passengers on today’s flight. The Transportation Department made its tentative selections last month and finalized those choices today.
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Major airlines had been competing for a limited number of flights to Cuba.
