The US Department of Transportation just approved six domestic airlines to begin offering service to and from Cuba, four months after the two former Cold War foes signed an agreement to restore commercial air travel.
Twenty roundtrip flights between the US and Havana every day
The approved carriers are American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Silver Airways, Southwest Airlines, and Sun Country Airlines. Starting this fall, those airlines may begin offering flights between Cuba and the US cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis / St. Paul. In addition to Havana, nine Cuban cities will accept US flights: Camagüey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Cienfuegos, Holguín, Manzanillo, Matanzas, Santa Clara, and Santiago de Cuba.
The new arrangement allows up to 20 roundtrip flights between the US and Havana every day, as well as 10 additional trips between the US and each of Cuba's nine other airports. In total, 110 daily roundtrip flights are authorized between the US and Cuba. US passengers wishing to visit Cuba will need to fall under one of 12 authorized categories, such as family visits, official business, or journalistic activity. Restrictions on tourism will still apply.