The diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba hit another milestone yesterday when JetBlue made a one-hour flight from Fort Lauderdale to Santa Clara, marking the first commercial flight between the two countries in more than 50 years.
Thanks to a new aviation agreement, up to 110 commercial flights per day can now go between cities throughout the US and Cuba, according to USA Today.
The new flights are the latest development since US President Barack Obama resumed diplomatic relations between the two countries in December 2014.
Since then, the US has reopened its embassy in Havana; the first cruise ship (Carnival’s Adonia) in more than 50 years has travelled from Miami to Havana; and the two countries have approved an American factory to be constructed on the island.
Salon also reported on Monday that last week AT&T became the first US telecommunications company to sign a deal with Cuba’s state-owned phone companies to offer mobile roaming services to customers who travel to Cuba.
However, the US-imposed trade embargo on Cuba remains in place, and will require Congressional action to be removed.
Reuters reported Monday that the embargo means that JetBlue’s initial flights will mainly carry Cuban-Americans visiting relatives or other US citizens interested in seeing cultural sites.
That could mean the expected explosion in tourism between the countries might take years to materialise, Reuters stated.
Another barrier noted in the Reuters report is Cuba’s lack of hotel capacity.
“Cuba’s hotels, bed and breakfasts, transportation services and amenities are already stretched to the limit, with a record 3.5 million foreign arrivals last year,” Reuters stated.
However, the same report noted that there has already been a major increase in visits from Cuba to the US.
“Some 300,000 Cubans living in the United States now travel home annually,” Reuters reported. “In 2015, the Cuban government reported 161,233 Americans visited, compared to 91,254 in 2014, and arrivals through June nearly doubled over the same period last year, a trend that the dawn of commercial flights can only further.”
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