American Airlines has secured approval from the US Department of Transportation (DoT) to restart operating flights to five airports in Cuba.
The services are set to resume in November.
This approval will allow American Airlines to fly from Miami to five Cuban airports, namely Camagüey, Holguín, Santa Clara, Santiago de Cuba and Matanzas/Varadero.
The airline will run two flights on a daily basis to Santa Clara, as well as one daily flight to the other airports.
This move comes as US President Joe Biden reversed a ban enforced by the previous administration of President Donald Trump.
Introduced in 2019 to escalate economic pressure on the Government of Cuba, the ban limited flight services between the two countries to Havana.
In a statement, the US DoT said: “This is the Department’s first approval of a US air carrier seeking to increase scheduled air services to Cuba since the Biden-Harris Administration’s announcement in May of new steps to support the Cuban people and strengthen ties between our citizens.
“This change will make it easier for families to visit their relatives in Cuba and for authorised US travellers to engage with the Cuban people, attend meetings and conduct research.”
Citing a filing issued by American Airlines, Reuters reported that the proposed flights ‘will enhance service and access between the US and these non-Havana points, after more than two years during which such service was suspended’.
The carrier added that it would ‘fulfil the public interest by offering and maintaining the best connectivity to Cuba via its Miami hub and providing substantial competition to other US carriers serving Cuba’.
Currently, American Airlines operates six daily flights between Miami, Florida, and Havana.
