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| JetBlue Flight 386 departs for Cuba from Fort Lauderdale airport, Florida, on August 31, 2016 (AFP Photo/Rhona Wise) |
Santa Clara (Cuba) (AFP) - The first regular commercial flight in more than 50 years from the United States landed in Cuba on Wednesday, as the two nations took the latest step in their efforts to boost ties.
JetBlue
Flight 387 landed in the central Cuban city of Santa Clara a little before
11:00 am (1500 GMT), about an hour after leaving Fort Lauderdale in
southeastern Florida with 150 passengers on board.
The plane
was greeted with a water cannon salute, an aviation tradition in which aircraft
pass under arcs of water before flying to their destinations for the first
time. Its departure from Florida was celebrated the same way.
The first
two passengers off the plane carried US and Cuban flags as they descended the
stairs onto the tarmac, where they symbolically exchanged the banners in a sign
of friendship.
The plane
was scheduled to complete the round trip later in the day, returning to Fort
Lauderdale.
The flight
was the first of 110 expected daily trips connecting US cities to airports in
the Communist-run island, many of them in or near tourism hotspots.
Regular air
service was severed during the Cold War, and charter flights have been the only
air links since.
US
Secretary of State John Kerry hailed the watershed.
"The
1st US commercial flight to #Cuba since 1961, just over a year after raising
the flag at US Embassy Havana. Another step fwd," he wrote on Twitter.
US
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who was on the JetBlue flight, will meet
with local officials during his visit, Cuba's transport ministry said.
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US
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx arrives at the airport of Santa Clara,
Cuba
on August 31, 2016 on the first commercial flight between the United
States and
Cuba since 1961 (AFP Photo/Alejandro Ernesto)
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Party in
Florida
The Fort
Lauderdale airport was in full party mode near Jet Blue's departure area -- a
live salsa band blared Cuban favorites as passengers and bystanders broke into
spontaneous dances.
There were
cheers, applause and a sea of balloons as boarding for the historic flight got
underway.
For some,
there were also tears of joy.
"I am
so proud, so overcome with emotion," said Domingo Santana, 53, who left
Cuba when he was just six years old.
Since then,
he said, "I've never been in my country. I don't know my country,"
adding: "It's a great opportunity."
History
in the making
The JetBlue
flight was flown by Captain Mark Luaces and First Officer Francisco Barreras,
both Americans of Cuban descent, the airline said.
One
passenger, Aleisy Barreda, 46, was overcome with emotion.
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Passengers
arriving at the airport of Santa Clara, Cuba on August 31,
2016 (AFP
Photo/Yamil Lage)
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"This
reopening has really benefitted us," she gushed.
"Not
only in terms of the ticket prices, but also in terms of how much easier it is
to purchase them," she said -- a reference to the rock bottom promotional
ticket price starting at $99 one way, including checked bag.
"Now
we only need more vacation time!"
The last
regular commercial flight between the two countries took place in 1961, when
air links fell victim to the Cold War.
Air travel
between the United States and Cuba has been restricted to charter flights since
1979.
Washington
and Havana agreed in February to restore direct commercial flights -- one of
several watershed changes initiated in December 2014, when US President Barack
Obama and Cuba's Raul Castro announced a thaw after more than 50 years of
hostility.
Diplomatic
relations were restored in July 2015.
Milestone
Washington
still bans Americans from visiting Cuba as tourists, but travel is permitted
for 12 other categories, including cultural and educational exchange.
The renewed
links are a "milestone" in relations between the United States and
Cuba, said Jorge Duany, director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida
International University.
Regular
flights "will allow more fluid movement of people, goods, information and
ideas between two places that are very close geographically but distant
politically," he said.
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Cuban
ambassador to the United States Jose Cabanas unveils a
poster during a press
conference at Fort Lauderdale airport, Florida, on
August 31, 2016 (AFP
Photo/Rhona Wise)
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Cuba:
'Hot' travel destination
Of the 3.5
million tourists in Cuba in 2015, only 161,000 were Americans.
However,
that number was up 77 percent from the previous year and Americans are now
expected to become a major component in a growth industry expected to reach 6.8
million visitors in 2018.
Travel
agents said US interest in making the short journey to the island has
skyrocketed.
"There's
a lot of interest in Cuba. It's the hot, 'in' place right now," said Frank
Gonzalez, owner of the Mambi travel agency which offers packages to the island
from the United States that include cultural workshops.
Twenty
daily routes to Havana are pending.
The
airlines designated to fly to the nine Cuban airports -- not including Havana
-- include American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Silver
Airways, Southwest Airlines and Sun Country Airlines, according to the US
government.
Flights
departing from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, Minneapolis and Philadelphia
will head to the Cuban cities Camaguey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Cienfuegos,
Holguin, Manzanillo, Matanzas, Santa Clara and Santiago de Cuba.
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