The plane took off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at 09:45 EDT (13:45 GMT) and landed in Santa Clara in central Cuba about an hour later.
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JetBlue Flight 387 touched down yesterday morning in the central city of Santa Clara
loaded mostly with airline executives, USA government officials, and journalists, as well as some Cuban-American families and US travelers.
For adventurous travelers who have long wanted to visit the U.S. neighbor to the south, the wait is not quite over, however: The law still prohibits U.S. travelers from going to Cuba strictly for tourism, and those who want to visit must qualify under 12 reasons sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury, which include business, religious and educational travel, as well as visiting family.
Secretary of State John Kerry tweeted that it is the first USA commercial flight to Cuba in more than half a century, describing it as “another step” forward in restoring ties. Embassies were opened, direct mail service was restored and Carnival Cruise Line ships have sailed to Cuba.
Reflecting how long it’s been since the last commercial flight between the United States and Cuba, the arrival of JetBlue’s Airbus A320 marked the first time an American carrier had operated a jet aircraft between the two countries – prior to the embargo, only flew propeller-powered aircraft to the Caribbean island. “We think that’s ultimately good for the expansion of freedom and democracy”.
The Transportation Department is expected to announce later Wednesday which airlines will fly directly to Havana.
“I haven’t seen anything like it”, he said.
At least six airlines won permission to start or resume flights to Cuba in a landmark moment in June 2016, including American, Frontier, JetBlue, Silver Airways, Southwest and Sun Country.
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JetBlue tentatively plans to serve the Cuban capital of Havana with daily flights between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Orlando International Airport (MCO).
