USA air carriers are invited to apply to service the island.
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The United States and Cuba will sign an agreement next week to resume commercial air traffic for the first time in five decades, starting the clock on dozens of new flights operating daily by next fall, US officials said Friday.
Of these, 20 daily flights will be allowed to and from capital Havana, with up to an additional 10 daily flights to Cuba’s nine regional airports.
USA airlines have until March 2 to submit route applications to the nation’s Transportation Department. US airlines can now apply to operate scheduled flights, and the DOT said it “intends to reach a final decision as expeditiously as possible”.
“While US law prohibits travel to Cuba for tourist activities, this arrangement will facilitate authorised travel”, the State Department said Friday in a statement.
“So we do not anticipate Cuban-owned aircraft serving the U.S.in the near future”, he said.
The U.S. and Cuba signed an agreement Tuesday that will re-establish regular air service between the two countries.
USA transportation chief Anthony Foxx and his Cuban counterpart, Adel Yzquierdo Rodriguez, agreed to the pact at a ceremony in Havana. But without commercial service, travelers have had to rely on charter flights.
United said it plans to offer service between “some of its global gateways” and Havana.
Washington and Havana restored diplomatic ties in July after a 54-year break, but commerce remains limited by the USA trade embargo, which includes a ban on American tourism to the Communist-led island.
Despite the current travel restrictions, almost 160,000 Americans flew to Cuba past year, and hundreds of thousands of Cuban-Americans made the trip to visit relatives using special charter services or flying indirectly through nearby countries.
American Airlines, United, Jet Blue, Southwest and Delta all reportedly have an interest in establishing regular travel to Cuba. Brandon Belford of the Department of Transportation says officials hope to approve which airlines get what routes by summer.
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American Airlines, which now offers 24 weekly charter flights from Miami, Los Angeles, and Tampa, Fla., has indicated it will seek routes out of Miami and said it is exploring options at its other hubs, including Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
