The U.S. Department of Transportation has made final its previously tentative decision for eight U.S. airlines to begin commercial passenger service to Havana, Cuba.
After more than 50 years, the Obama administration moved in 2014 to normalize diplomatic relations with the island nation. Commercial flights began last week with JetBlue Airways' inaugural trip.
[READMORE]READ MORE: JetBlue Completes First Commercial Flight To Cuba[/READMORE]
The commercial flights that began to Cuba were to cities other than Havana, and the DOT has finally green-lit 20 daily flights to the capital city spread over eight carriers. Twelve U.S. airlines and one cargo carrier applied for the routes.
"Recognizing that the opening of the U.S.-Havana scheduled service market is still at a developmental stage, the Department tentatively decided, to the extent possible and within the constraints presented, to give a range of U.S. carriers the chance to develop the market consistent with the public interest," the DOT said in a statement. "The Department also tentatively found that the public would benefit from a wide array of travel choices: choices in terms of type of carrier, specifically, network, low-cost, ultra-low-cost; choices of airport; choices of nonstop or connecting service. The importance of having service available from certain carrier hubs was a factor in the tentative decision, as was the applicants' own ranking of their proposals."
The airlines and routes to Havana are:
* Alaska Airlines, Los Angeles to Havana, once daily
* American Airlines, Miami to Havana, four times daily
* American Airlines, Charlotte to Havana, once daily
* Delta Air Lines, New York JFK to Havana, once daily
* Delta Air Lines, Atlanta to Havana, once daily
* Delta Air Lines, Miami to Havana, once daily
* Frontier Airlines, Miami to Havana, once daily
* JetBlue Airways, Fort Lauderdale to Havana, twice daily (once on Saturdays)
* JetBlue Airways, New York JFK to Havana, once daily
* JetBlue Airways, Orlando to Havana, once daily
* Southwest Airlines, Fort Lauderdale to Havana, twice daily
* Southwest Airlines, Tampa to Havana, once daily
* Spirit Airlines, Fort Lauderdale to Havana, once daily
* United Airlines, Newark to Havana, once daily
* United Airlines, Houston to Havana, once daily
Silver Airways and Eastern Air Lines both officially objected to the decision in the DOT filing, with Silver stating that "daily routes to Havana from non-Florida gateways with relatively small populations of Cuban-Americans should be avoided."
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