United States and Cuba Sign Arrangement Restoring Scheduled Air Service

While some airports, including Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall, offer charter flights between the USA and Havana, there have been no regularly scheduled flights between the two for more than 50 years.

Less than one year later, in December 2015, after several months of negotiations, the governments of the United States and Cuba concluded negotiations on a non-legally binding arrangement to re-establish scheduled air services between the two countries.

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”.

The Transportation Department said carriers can now begin applying for direct access to Cuba, a process that also will involve figuring out which U.S. airports will offer such flights.

“We expect flights to start sometime this year, but at this point we can not predict precisely when”, a DOT spokesperson said in an email to Travel Weekly. There have been no scheduled flights between the United States and Cuba for over half a century.

The agreement signals a further thawing in relations between the two nations and could lead to cheaper flights and an increase in U.S. travellers to Cuba. American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said his company has plans to bid on routes from Miami and other unspecified American hubs.

So, we were pleased to see the Obama administration announcing Tuesday the re-establishment of scheduled air services between the two nations. The US Treasury Department has set 12 categories of authorized travel, including, for example, educational and religious activities as well as organizing professional meetings.

This agreement will mean the potential for 110 daily round-trip flights in and out of Cuba. “They have already had numerous trips and conversations to grease the skids for when this becomes a possibility”, said Brandon Belford, the deputy US assistant secretary for aviation and global affairs.

Orlando International has had charter service to Havana since last summer, including Wednesday and Sunday flights through Island Travel & Tours.

The airline deal comes a day after the USA approved the construction of the first American factory on the island since the restoration of diplomatic relations, a farm tractor assembly operation that plans to hire Cuban workers.