Feds Approve Scheduled Air Service To Cuba
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Miami and Ft. Lauderdale have been selected as two of the five cities that will have new scheduled flights to Cuba beginning as early as this fall.
"Last year, President Obama announced that it was time to 'begin a new journey' with the Cuban people," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "Today, we are delivering on his promise by re-launching scheduled air service to Cuba after more than half a century."
The other cities getting scheduled air service will be Chicago, Philadelphia and Minneapolis/St. Paul.
The air carriers that will be providing the flights are American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Silver Airways, Southwest Airlines and Sun Country Airlines.
"We are very pleased the Department of Transportation has awarded American the authority to operate scheduled service in the U.S.-Cuba market," said Steve Johnson, American's executive vice president of Corporate Affairs in a statement. "The resumption of scheduled air service to Cuba is a historic achievement and we commend Secretary Foxx and his team for making it a reality."
The airlines expect to begin selling tickets well in advance of their planned startup dates. They will need to market and sell tickets consistent with the laws, regulations, and requirements that remain in affect concerning travel to Cuba. Travelers should check directly with the airlines for details.
In addition to Havana, flights will also go to Camagüey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Cienfuegos, Holguín, Manzanillo, Matanzas, Santa Clara, and Santiago de Cuba.
Under the new arrangement, each country has the opportunity to operate up to 10 daily roundtrip flights between the U.S. and each of Cuba's nine international airports, other than Havana, for a total of 90 daily round trips.
The arrangement also provides for up to 20 daily round trip flights between the U.S. and Havana. The U.S. carriers have requested nearly 60 flights per day to Havana, so now the U.S. Department of Transportation will have to make selections from among the proposals. A decision on the Havana routes will be announced later this summer.
