(Newswire.net — February 17, 2016) –United States Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Cuban Minister of Transportation Adel Yzquierdo Rodriguez signed an agreement on the renewal of commercial flights.
The two officials signed the agreement on Tuesday, at a ceremony in the Hotel Nacional in Havana, Cuba.
Airlines from the United States can now apply for up to 110 daily flights between the US and Cuba, five times more than the current number, the Associated Press reported.
All the flights that are currently taking place between the two countries are only charter flights.
According to the new agreement, by next fall, twenty regular flights per day will be introduced between the United States and the Cuban capital Havana, in addition to the current ten, fifteen charter flights. Ten will be from the US to other destinations in Cuba: Camaguey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Cienfuegos, Holguin, Manzanillo, Matanzas, Santa Clara and Santiago de Cuba.
In six months time, all the final destinations will be determined.
Authorities in Havana have ordered renovations of the Jose Marti airport as its capacity will have to double.
Anthony Foxx said that today is a historic day in relations between Cuba and the United States of America, and added that this new agreement for commercial flights is an important milestone in the US effort to restore good relations with Cuba.
The Cuban Minister of Transportation has said that this agreement is an important step which will soon allow regular flights between the US and Cuba.
The renewal of commercial flights is one of the most important events for trade relations between the US and Cuba. Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro made the announcement that they will start to normalize relations between the two countries in late 2014, after more than half a century, interrupted by the Cold War.