JetBlue made its first weekly flight between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Havana's Jose Marti International Airport on Friday. The budget-friendly airline was the first major carrier to add a direct route to Cuba since the Obama administration eased travel restrictions earlier this year, according to New York Daily News.
New York-based JetBlue announced on May 5 its intention to connect the Big Apple and Havana with weekly flights, initially with tickets sold at the Cuban Travel Services agency, reports FOX News Latino.
A press release about the partnership asserts that Cuba will one day play an important role in JetBlue's overall network in the region.
Travellers approached this partnership with equal enthusiasm.
"This is something we're gonna talk about for years and years and years; this is an opportunity for American people to go to Cuba," Carlos Infante, one of the passengers, told NBC New York.
Unfortunately Cuba isn't open to tourist travel until the full economic embarago is rolled back.
There are 12 categories a trip to Cuba has to fall under, they are as follows:
- Family visits
- Official business of the U.S. government, foreign governments, and certain intergovernmental organizations
- Journalistic activity
- Professional research and meetings
- Educational activities
- Religious activities
- Public performances, clinics, workshops, athletic and other competitions, and exhibitions
- Support for the Cuban people
- Humanitarian projects
- Activities of private foundations or research or educational institutes
- Exportation, importation, or transmission of information or information materials
- Certain export transactions that may be considered for authorization under existing regulations and guidelines.
The tourist travel ban can only be lifted by Congress.
For those who do fall into any of the above categories, JetBlue now has five weekly round trips to Cuba, including flights from Tampa and Fort Lauderdale in Florida.
