JetBlue to offer flights between New York and Cuba
JetBlue Airways announced Tuesday that it would begin offering a flight between New York and Cuba -- a move that makes it the first major U.S. carrier to offer a flight to the country since travel restrictions were recently eased.
The weekly nonstop will travel on Fridays between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport starting in July.
------------
FOR THE RECORD
9:23 p.m. A previous version of this story said the service would be operated by JetBlue’s charter partner, Cuba Travel Services. It will be operated by JetBlue. Travel arrangements and bookings, however, will be done through the charter service.
------------
In January, the Obama administration issued new rules that make it far easier for Americans to visit the island nation and do business there after more than 50 years of enforced isolation. This came on the heels of a December announcement of the United State’s plans to normalize relations with Havana and to restore diplomatic ties broken soon after the Cuban revolution of 1959.
New Treasury and Commerce Department regulations, implemented in January, relax decades-old U.S. restrictions on trade and remittances, including the use of U.S. credit and debit cards in Cuba, opening a path for tourists.
The New York City area has the second largest Cuban American population in the United States after Florida.
Twitter: @kurtisalee
