Historic agreement between US and Cuba sees restart of scheduled flights expected in 2016

A bi-lateral agreement has been reached for the re-introduction of scheduled air services between the USA and Cuba, though a specific date has not yet been set. This is the latest step in Barack Obama’s wish to improve political relations with the country which he announced back in December 2014.
In 14th March 2015 the first charter flight since 1958 flew between Cuba and New Orleans, while also that month Cuba Travel Services confirmed it would be flying between JFK, New York and Havana once a week on Tuesdays, and JetBlue indicated it would be flying between Tampa, Florida and Havana.
The bi-lateral agreement, however, sees no easing of restrictions extended to tourists. US citizens are only allowed to fly to Cuba providing they fall into one of 12 approved categories, such as family visits, educational activities or public performances.
It is anticipated that the reintroduction of scheduled services will be phased in slowly, allowing Cuba time to build the infrastructure required to accommodate the extra flights and passengers while securing the future of the country’s airline, Cubana, in a new aviation environment.
American Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue Airways announced they will seek approval to begin scheduled services as soon as possible. American chairman and CEO, Doug Parker, issued a statement saying: “Today’s announcement is great news for our customers as it brings us one step closer to connecting the US and Cuba with scheduled air service. We look forward to establishing scheduled service to Cuba in 2016, from Miami and other American hubs.”
JetBlue SVP-airline planning, Scott Laurence, said, “We hope the next dot on our Caribbean route map will be Havana, and possibly even other destinations in Cuba,” adding that “Cuba is the perfect addition to the JetBlue network,” with the airline confirming it is “eager” to provide scheduled service to Cuba.
Because of the state of political relations between the two countries, Cubana has been restricted for decades by not being able to utilize aircraft with anything more than 10% US-manufactured elements. As a consequence, its fleet of planes is predominantly of Russian origin, including Antonov AN-24s, Ilushin IL-96s and Tupolev TU-204s, though it actually leases four A320s from Avion Express, using these for its Canada routes.
On the ground the principal problems lie in airport terminal infrastructure and airside. Cuba has 10 international and 15 domestic airports. Though the international airports are equipped with lengthy runways, a considerable amount of development work will be required, particularly with the airport at Havana, to enable it to cope with the anticipated increased in both aircraft and passenger traffic.