The U.S. and Cuba will sign an agreement on Tuesday that will restart commercial flights to the communist island nation for the first time in 50 years, eventually allowing over 100 flights per day.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will fly to Havana on Tuesday to formally sign the agreement that was reached in December. U.S. airlines will then have 15 days to apply with the Department of Transportation for routes they would like to fly, and a bidding war will likely continue until mid-March. Routes and slots will likely be awarded to specific carriers over the summer, reported The Hill.
Round-trip flights between the U.S. and Cuba are expected to resume by October, with as many as 110 occurring daily, including 20 flights to Havana and 10 flights to nine other Cuban cities, according to USA Today. These would come in addition to the current 10 to 15 daily charter flights to Havana.
American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines are looking to open up routes to Havana later this year, reported Bloomberg. There are no plans for the near future to allow Cuban-owned planes to fly to the U.S., according to CNN.
American travelers would be required to certify their trip to Cuba falls under one of 12 categories, including visiting family, humanitarian projects, support for Cuban people, journalistic activity, professional research, educational activities, religious activities and public performances.
"You know it's usually significant when the President made this announcement of re-establishing diplomatic relations more than a year ago," Foxx told CNN. "It really means a great deal to the people of both countries. Leaving aside the political differences, there's so many cultural connections between the two countries, in some cases family connections, the ability to have educational exchanges and things that happen as a result of resumption of this service, is really, really significant."
The resumption of commercial flights is the latest step in the normalization of diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Cuba, which began 14 months ago after 53 years of estrangement. The two countries have also reopened embassies in each other's capitals and entered new business deals in medicine, communications and tourism. Still, Cuban President Raul Castro has said that normal relations will only be possible when the U.S. Congress abolishes the trade embargo against his country, reported BBC News.
