The first regular direct commercial flight from the United States arrived in the central Cuban city of Santa Clara on Wednesday morning, marking an important new step in thawing ties between the former Cold War foes.
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After more than 50 years without regular air service, Cubans will be able to visit family in the USA on the same commercial airlines that serve the rest of the world.
“We are proud to be the first USA airline to serve Cuba, but our focus is on being the best airline serving Cuba”, Hayes said.
“Transportation has a unique role in this historic initiative and we look forward to the benefits these new services will provide to those eligible for Cuba travel”, Foxx said.
The big winners were American Airlines, which will be able to fly four times daily from Miami and once daily from Charlotte, and JetBlue Airways, which has been authorized to fly to the Cuban capital from Fort Lauderdale, New York’s JFK and Orlando. The carrier will launch service from Fort Lauderdale to Camaguey on 3 November, and then to Holguin on 10 November. But now travelers eager to see the island have the simple option of just hopping on one of JetBlue’s direct flights into the country, the New York Times reports.
But you could still eventually catch a nonstop flight from Minnesota because Sun Country got the OK to fly to the island. The route may be a commercial challenge, at least initially, but it will be the first of a plethora of new flights by various US airlines to destinations on the Communist-ruled island.
As a result of these changes, which have been previously reported on here, a USA embassy was opened, direct mail service has been restored, Carnival cruise line has begun trips to Cuba and various regulatory changes have been made to ease travel, trade and financial transactions with Cuba.
Wednesday’s final decision confirmed tentative assignments made on July 7.
“The Department finds that no party has presented any arguments that warrant a different outcome in this proceeding”, says the agency.
Once Alaska receives official approval from the Cuban government, the airline will determine when to begin service. By December, you’ll be able to fly directly to Havana from Houston, Los Angeles and NY, alongside the more obvious Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Southwest says it will release its Cuba schedule in the coming days.
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In 1961 – the last time commercial planes flew between the two countries – Fidel Castro’s Communist government had held power for just two years and in 1962 the world nearly descended into nuclear war with the Cuban missile crisis.
