6 U.S. airlines get clearance to fly to Cuba

WASHINGTON, June 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Transportation on Friday approved six American carriers to soon begin daily scheduled flights to Cuba for the first time in more than a half century, officials said.

Normal, scheduled flights between the United States and the communist Caribbean island nation have been dormant since the early 1960s, when former dictator Fidel Castro took power and aligned his government with the Soviet Union.

Following a substantial thawing of the nations' icy relations over the past year, including a trip to Havana by President Barack Obama in March, U.S. transportation officials said Friday the flights will resume as early as this fall.

The carriers approved to fly to Cuba are American Airlines, Frontier, JetBlue, Silver Airways, Southwest and Sun Country Airlines. American is the only of the so-called "Big Three" U.S. airlines on the list, so far.

The airline on Friday thanked the Transportation Department for giving the green light to the new routes.

We're thrilled to start service to 5 cities in Cuba this fall. Thank you, @USDOT. #AACuba https://t.co/RuclRXSmng pic.twitter.com/9jFSRXANsF
— American Airlines (@AmericanAir) June 10, 2016

Friday, United Airlines lauded the new flights in a tweet, three months after announcing plans to add Havana to its list of future destinations.

Initially, the new flights will depart from five cities -- Miami and Fort Lauderdale in Florida, Chicago, Philadelphia and Minneapolis.

President Barack Obama waves goodbye after boarding Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, near Washington, D.C., on his way to Cuba, March 20, 2016. Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it had cleared six American carriers to begin daily scheduled flights to nine destinations on the Caribbean island nation as early as this fall. File Photo by Martin H. Simon/UPI

"Last year, President Obama announced that it was time to 'begin a new journey' with the Cuban people," Department of Transportation chief Anthony Foxx said in a statement Friday. "Today, we are delivering on his promise by re-launching scheduled air service to Cuba."

It wasn't clear exactly when the first flights would depart, but Transportation officials said earlier this year they were aiming for late 2016.

The United States and Cuba spent decades as adversaries, between the time of Castro's revolution in 1959 and last year, when leaders of both countries took a series of steps to redevelop a friendlier political relationship.

Friday, White House national security adviser and speechwriter Ben Rhodes tweeted a graphic that read, "Thanks to President Obama we are charting a new course in Cuba."

Direct flights between the US & Cuba bridge former barriers of failed isolation. https://t.co/UuVfPeY1oz pic.twitter.com/FqTxi9mKBN
— Ben Rhodes (@rhodes44) June 10, 2016

Friday's news also revealed that nine Cuban cities will be served by the new flights: Camagüey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Cienfuegos, Holguín, Manzanillo, Matanzas, Santa Clara, and Santiago de Cuba.

Havana, the Cuban capital, though, is not part of the planned arrangement -- not yet, at least.

"I know travelers and carriers are asking, 'What about Havana? Why is that city left out?" Foxx said. "U.S. carriers have requested nearly 60 flights per day to Havana, so here at the Department we're working to analyze the airline proposals, and we plan to announce those routes later this summer."

Under the new agreement, each country can operate as many as 10 round-trip flights per day for each destination, for a total of 90 daily flights. In the near future, it's expected that 20 flights per day will serve Havana.

"For avid travelers -- that means 155 weekly trips!" Foxx added. "It is an exciting time in American history as we continue to make inroads toward safe scheduled passenger and cargo flights to Cuba aboard U.S. passenger and cargo carriers."