Six US airlines approved to begin direct flights to Cuba
Six US airlines have been approved by the American government to begin the first scheduled flights to Cuba in more than 50 years.
The airlines were approved to fly from five US cities to nine Cuban cities other than the capital Havana, the US Transportation Department announced Friday.
The department will announce later this summer which airlines will get a combined 20 daily flights to the capital out of nearly 60 proposed flights.
The airlines approved are American Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Silver Airways and Sun Country Airlines.
The flights are part of US President Barack Obama’s “new journey” with the Cuban people, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said.
“Today, we are delivering on his promise by re-launching scheduled air service to Cuba after more than half a century,” Foxx said.
Travelers to Cuba must still name one of a dozen reasons for the visit other than tourism.
The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961 and placed an official embargo against the country in 1962.
The two countries became ideological foes soon after the 1959 revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power and their ties remained hostile even after the end of the Cold War.
The two countries held 18 months of secret talks that led to a joint announcement on December 17 that the two long-time adversaries would restore diplomatic relations and release prisoners on both sides.
The United States and Cuba restored diplomatic relations on 20 July 2015. Despite this, Washington continues to maintain its commercial, economic, and financial embargo, which makes it illegal for US corporations to do business with Cuba.
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