Cuba and Unites States resume commercial flights

After 50 years of trade embargo, US and Cuba will resume commercial flights following agreement

According to the statement of the US transportation secretary Anthony Foxx, the agreement signed between the two countries represents a “critically important milestone in the US effort to engage with Cuba”. The trade embargo over Cuba dates back since 1960.

Mainline airlines will commence operating between the two destinations, considerably raising flight capacity and frequency. Starting autumn 2016, more than 100 flights a day will service the US-Cuba route.

US carrier United Airlines was the first to show its support on resuming the flights. The company's official statement quoted: “United Airlines today applauded the historic signing by representatives of the United States and Cuba governments of a formal arrangement to reinstitute air service between the two countries.”

The efforts to improve relationships started in 2014, when Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro started collaborating to normalise tense economical and commercial situation between the two states. The first step was to reopen embassies in Washington and Havana, in the summer of 2015.