The American company Delta Airlines will resume next April its flights to José Martí International Airportfrom Havana, as confirmed by the island’s aeronautical authorities.
José Ramón Hernández, Director of Operations of the Cuban Company of Airports and Airport Services SA (Ecasa), said to the official newspaper Granma that the reactivation of that route shows the growing interest of international airlines in having Cuba as a destination.
Delta was the only airline in USA which offered regular flights to the island before 1961 and was also the last US carrier to exit the Cuban market with the suspension of its service from Havana to New Orleans.
On December 1, 2016, it reactivated its itineraries to the Cuban capital as it was one of the eight airlines who received authorization from the United States Department of Transportation to fly to the country amid the relaxation of bilateral relations during the Obama administration.
Since the borders were reopened thanks to the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba, the number of airlines that have restored or increased the frequency of their flights has gradually grown. Delta is now added to that movement.
According to advertisement the company, the new operations would begin on April 10 from the Miami International Airport, with two daily flights, the first at 9:05 am and the other at 1:40 pm
Currently, 48 international airlines that carry out commercial flights operate in Cuba. Of these, 20 do so from Latin America and the Caribbean, 14 from Europe, six from Canada, seven from the United States (four regular and three charter) and one from Africa, refer to the data reflected by Granma.
The Ecasa manager explained to the media that four other airlines carry out flights to bring cargo to the country.
Regarding the markets with the highest volume of passengers, Hernández pointed out the Canadian, the Spanish and the Cuban-American, and emphasized that international commercial operations are received in all the island’s airports, except in Manzanillo and Cienfuegos.
Manuel López Bello, general director of the José Martí International Airport, indicated that flights from the United States to Terminal 2 of that facility have an approximate daily frequency of between 10 and 14 operations, with the possibility of increasing that number.
The main airport facility in Cuba experienced a movement of more than 3 million passengers last year, and flights of 30,100 aircraft were operated in it, which represented a slight over-compliance with those planned, said Granma.
