Six U.S. airlines were given permission Friday to begin commercial flights from the United States to Cuba for the first time in more than 50 years.
The Department of Transportation approved American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Silver Airways, Southwest Airlines and Sun Country Airlines to begin flights from five U.S. cities to nine cities other than Havana.
They will total 155 roundtrip flights per week.
“Last year, President Obama announced that it was time to ‘begin a new journey’ with the Cuban people,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. “Today, we are delivering on his promise by re-launching scheduled air service to Cuba after more than half a century.”
The five U.S. cities that will receive new scheduled service to Cuba are Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Philadelphia. The nine Cuban cities are Camagüey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Cienfuegos, Holguín, Manzanillo, Matanzas, Santa Clara and Santiago de Cuba.
A decision on the Havana routes is expected later this summer, as U.S. airline carriers are requesting nearly 60 flights per day to the country’s capital.
The flights to Cuba could start as soon as this fall, according to DOT.
