US, Cuba Sign Deal to Restore Airline Travel

U.S. Air carriers have until March 2 to apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation for the flights, officials said.

Airlines are expected to apply for flights in the coming days with final announcement of approved routes by the U.S. government sometime this spring.

The two countries had been at odds for more than half a century following the overthrow of then-Cuban president Fulgencio Batista in 1959 by Fidel Castro’s forces.

U.S. airlines now operate between 10 and 15 charter flights into the Cuban capital per day. They need to fit one of 12 categories laid out by the Treasury Department, which include but are not limited to family visits, official visits of the USA government, journalistic activity, religious activities, workshops, performances and clinics. More than 160,000 people from the US visited Cuba a year ago on those flights, which the Associated Press said were “expensive” and “frequently chaotic”.

The flights could begin in autumn this year.

That would mark Delta’s return to Cuba after operating charter flights to the country in 2011 and 2012.

In 2014, the Obama administration said it planned to re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Cuban Transportation Minister Adel Yzquierdo Rodríguez signed the deal in a ceremony at Havana’s Hotel Nacional on Tuesday morning. Tourism is still barred by law, but the number of legal reasons to go to Cuba – from organizing professional meetings to distributing information to Cubans – has grown so large and loosely enforced that the distinction from tourism has blurred significantly.

JetBlue (JBLU) today issued the following statement on today’s historic air services agreement signing in Havana.

In a report by the Chicago Business Journal, American Airlines has the advantage over United and JetBlue because one of its major hubs is located at the Miami International Airport.

The agreement allows for regular flights “between any city in the USA and any city in Cuba”, provided it is equipped with infrastructure for global air travel, he added. Discount carrier Spirit Airlines has also claimed their plan to submit a proposal to offer their service between the USA and the island. But travel has always been arranged by tour operators who are licensed to charter flights to Cuba.