One of the longest enduring international fall-outs in the world has been thawing of late, and now it looks like direct flights to Cuba from American cities will start up later this year.
Commercial flights between the two countries were halted some 50 years ago when incidents such as the Bay of Pigs incident and Cuban missile crisis rocked the world.
New agreement results in more daily flights
Now, following on from the signing of an agreement between the two countries, more than 100 daily flights are likely to be available, which is five times the number of current charter flights that operate between the two destinations.
Anthony Foxx, United States Transportation Secretary, called the new deal a “critically important milestone in the US effort to engage with Cuba”.
United Airlines has already issued its own support for the move with a statement: “United Airlines today applauded the historic signing by representatives of the United States and Cuba governments of a formal arrangement to reinstitute air service between the two countries.”
New era ushers in new relationship
The communist-run island has suffered for more than half a century under a US trade embargo that began in 1960 and now Adel Rodriguez, the Cuban Minister of Transport, has hailed the latest developments as beginning a “new era”.
US president Barack Obama and Cuba's President Raul Castro announced that they would begin normalising the relationship between their countries in 2014, and went on to meet for the first time in April 2015 in Panama. In September that same year they shook hands and had a private meeting at the UN General Assembly.
If you are planning to take advantage of the new relaxed travel rules and take a trip of a lifetime to explore all Cuba has to offer, make sure to arrange your Long-Haul Travel Insurance well in advance.
Date Created: 18/02/2016
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