After a year of change, with eased travel restrictions and re-opening of embassies, the U.S. and Cuba have come to agreement on arrangements for restoring regular airline service between the two countries, according to a Wednesday report from the Associated Press.
The report has no details so far on when first flights might happen, but the outline indicates payment systems that would allow flights to be booked online and would streamline other aspects that have made travel to Cuba difficult. Travelers would no longer be required to purchase tickets through charter agents.
Most of the existing charter flights are operated by American and JetBlue, flying from New York, Miami and Los Angeles. Both airlines have indicated they would apply for landing rights for regular flights when possible, and already have on-the-ground connections to Cuba’s airport services and personnel. Presumably, the agreement will also allow Cuba’s Cubana airline to fly to the U.S.
In another Cuba-U.S. development, Stonegate Bank, in Florida, is starting to issue the first U.S. based debit card that will be acceptable in Cuba. U.S. credit cards only recently lost restrictions that made them unusable in Cuba, but the MasterCard-branded debit card is another way to ease travelers’ way in Cuba.
Photo: American Airlines charter flight on tarmac at Havana’s Jose Marti.
