WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The eight airlines include American, Frontier, JetBlue, Silver, Southwest and Sun Country will fly to the nine Cuban cities, the Transportation Department noted.
"[The Transportation Department] proposed to select eight US airlines to begin scheduled flights between Atlanta, Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York City, Orlando and Tampa and Havana as early as this fall," the release said.
In February, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Charles Rivkin signed an arrangement with their Cuban counterparts to resume scheduled air service between the two countries.
Under the agreement, Washington and Havana would operate up to ten daily roundtrip flights between the United States and each of Cuba’s nine international airports other than Havana, for a total of 90 daily roundtrip flights.
"Longer term, the arrangement also provides for up to 20 daily roundtrip flights between the US and Havana," the release stated.
President Barack Obama announced in February that regular commercial airline service with Cuba would re-open and reach up to ten international airports on the Caribbean island nation.
In December of 2014, Obama restored diplomatic ties with Cuba, after more than a half century since Washington severed relations with Havana following the 1959 Cuban revolution.
