The US airline American Airlines will resume operations in November at the Juan Gualberto Gómez International Airport in Varadero. The announcement, together with the increase in flights from other companies, has given rise to the Cuban authorities already celebrating “a very active winter season” in the main tourist destination on the island.
According to official pressin addition to American Airlines, will land 40 weekly flights from Canada operated by Sunwing Airlines, in addition to other connections from Germany, Portugal, England, Russia, Mexico, Holland, Brussels and the Dominican Republic.
Also from Spain, this winter, Iberostar’s airline, World2Fly, will increase its flights to the island. It remains on Saturdays departing from the Juan Gualberto Gómez to Lisbon, but will increase three more flights from Havana with final destination Spain, for a total of six a week.
Added to these projections are new connections that have started this month, such as the Mérida-Camagüey route, which was inaugurated on October 6 and will be maintained every Thursday by the Mexican airline Viva Aerobus.
Cuban authorities reported that 48 weekly flights from various parts of the world currently land in Varadero. For the winter season, which begins on November 15, they announced that the air terminal will put into operation “new international traffic operators and airport services.”
The Cuban authorities reported that currently 48 weekly flights from various parts of the world land in Varadero
Although the official press did not specify how many flights American will operate, the largest US airline had indicated last July that from November it would make two daily connections to Santa Clara and one a day to Varadero, Holguín, Camagüey and Santiago de Cuba.
The company’s announcement came when the Biden Administration authorized its flights to the Cuban provinces, which were interrupted in 2019 by the government of then President Donald Trump by restricting air service between the two countries.
Shortly after, American, which currently maintains six daily flights between Havana and Miami, filed a request for the Department of Transportation to allow it to increase two more daily connections between the two cities, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Finally for December, the airline based in Fort Worth, Texas, will expand 13 more routes between the US and Cuba.
According to the latest available data, which includes until August of this year, Cuba has received 1,390,000 tourists, barely 44.5% of the total recorded in the same period of 2019, before the covid pandemic, when it is more accurate to compare figures.
The most important group of international travelers are Canadians (30.7%), followed by Cubans abroad (21.8%). With less participation, the United States (6.2%), Spain (5.6%), Russia (3.9%) and Germany (3.5%).
The data shows that, until now, the strategies of the Cuban Government are advancing slowly to reactivate a key industry in the economic dynamics of the Island.
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