US to launch commercial flights to Cuba
NEW YORK, August 28, 2016
US carrier JetBlue Airways will makes the first regular commercial flight between the US and Cuba next week, after more than half a century, said a report.
Authorities in Cuba made the announcement on Thursday, saying, the inaugural flight on August 31 is the first of its kind since the early 1960s and is due to take off from Fort Lauderdale in the US state of Florida and land in the central Cuban city of Santa Clar, ETurboNews reported.
"The revival of regular direct flights is a positive step and a contribution to the process of improving relations between the two countries," Cuban Deputy Transportation Minister Eduardo Rodriguez said to local media.
The move is to initiate a new flight schedule which includes 110 daily trips, with 90 already authorised by both governments to nine Cuban airports.
“Twenty daily routes to Havana are pending, with airlines requesting the US authorities to triple that number,” Rodriguez added.
The US and Cuba restored diplomatic relations on July 20, 2015, but the US continues to maintain its commercial, economic, and financial embargo, which makes it illegal for US corporations to do business with Cuba.