US airlines will have until March 2 to apply to the Department of Transportation for permission to fly to Cuba.
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While the flights will be in high demand, restrictions on who can travel to Cuba remain. “It represents a critically important milestone in the USA effort to engage with Cuba”. Barring other major announcements, it would be the most significant development in U.S.-Cuba trade since Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro announced in late 2014 that they would begin normalizing ties after a half-century of Cold War opposition. Charter flights may continue as before.
Mr Foxx said: “Today is a historic day in the relationship between Cuba and the US”.
So, we were pleased to see the Obama administration announcing Tuesday the re-establishment of scheduled air services between the two nations.
JetBlue Airways’ main hub is located at JFK Airport in New York City, but also has secondary hubs in Boston and Orlando, per Centre for Aviation.
Jacksonville Aviation Authority said at this time, no airlines at Jacksonville International Airport have expressed interest in having direct flights to Cuba.
“We don’t expect the market to necessarily demand 10 per day to each of the other non-Havana destinations”, said Thomas Engle, deputy assistant secretary of state for transportation affairs. United States Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx is expected to be in Havana for the signing.
Last year Frontier reported on a landmark decision, allowing USA travellers to import up to $100 worth of Cuban tobacco and alcohol in the country.
Currently, charter flights are the only ones operating between Cuba and the U.S. Some airlines had already offered charter flights prior to the agreement, including American Airlines, which has offered charter flights since April 1991.
The United States announced plans to resume the flights in December, on the one-year anniversary of the start of reconciliation between Washington and Havana. USA travelers are still technically prohibited from visiting Cuba for tourism, travel under 12 categories is, however, permitted.
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American Airlines was the first to issue a statement on the agreement on Tuesday, applauding the move and saying it “looks forward to submitting a Cuba service proposal to the Department of Transportation in the coming weeks”.
