After years of turbulence between the Cold War foes, the JetBlue Airbus A320 flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Wednesday marks one more landmark in the countries’ improving relationship.
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Instragram user dsmission wrote on a photo of what appeared to be a JetBlue Cuba gift bag: “So honored to help @jetbluemake history today w/the first United States commercial flight to Cuba in 50 years”.
The U.S. Department of Transportation marked the milestone by announcing other carriers selected to operate commercial routes to Havana: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines.
The President is unable to lift the trade embargo and under U.S. law Americans are still not permitted to travel to the U.S. for tourism.
Ground crew hold US and Cuban flags near a recently landed JetBlue aeroplane, the first commercial scheduled flight between the United States and Cuba in more than 50 years, at the Abel Santamaria International Airport in Santa Clara, Cuba, August 31, 2016. A total of 10 US airlines are set to add a Cuba route to their scheduling after receiving tentative permission.
The restart of commercial travel between the two countries is one of the most important steps in President Barack Obama’s two-year-old policy of normalizing relations with the island. Hopefully, an end to the economic embargo is in sight, but in the meantime regular commercial flights will boost jobs and economic opportunities for the Tampa Bay area and our state. Service is expected to begin in November, the airline said at the time.
Collectively, the airlines applied for almost 60 flights per day to Havana, exceeding the 20 daily flights made available by the arrangement between the two governments. The flights also will originate from Atlanta; Houston; Los Angeles; Miami; Newark, N.J.; NY; and Orlando and Tampa, Fla. Americans can legally travel to Cuba if they meet one of 12 criteria, such as for educational, cultural or religious purposes.
In selecting the airlines, DOT said that its principal objective was to select the carriers that would offer and maintain the best service for the public.
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Transportation has a unique role in this historic initiative, and DOT looks forward to the benefits that these new services will provide to those eligible for Cuba travel.
