Following President Barack Obama’s efforts to reestablish diplomatic relations with Cuba, various commercial connections have begun reappearing. Serious things like the first cruise ships to begin traveling between the two nations, and silly things like late night talk show host Conan O’Brien’s historic broadcast from the island republic. Yet one thing has remained elusively unavailable for Americans and Cubans alike — air travel. Or at least that was the case until Wednesday, when JetBlue Flight 387 flew from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to the city of Santa Clara.
According to the New York Times, JetBlue executive vice president Marty St. George told reporters gathered Wednesday morning that Flight 387 would be the first scheduled airplane between the U.S. and Cuba in over 50 years.
“We do think it’s an important part of history,” Mr. St. George said. “From a challenge perspective, we know the drill. Cuba has some unique elements because of 50 years of history between the U.S. and Cuba, but we’re ready to go.”
Despite the renewed ties, the U.S. has implemented a gradual series of diplomatic and commercial changes that will eventually allow greater travel opportunities for American and Cuban citizens alike. Hence why, despite nearly two years having passed since Obama reopened dialogue with Cuban President Raúl Castro, U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council President John S. Kavulich says JetBlue is one of only six airlines approved for flights to at least nine Cuban destinations.
Of course, the possibility of American-Cuban air travel is not without its critics. Per Republican Mike McCaul, chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, the airline and flight approval process was “very rushed.” Why? Because terrorism, obviously:
“We don’t even know what their vetting process is for these employees. It just takes one person — either corrupted or radicalized — to put a bomb on an airplane,” McCaul said.
Flight 387 left Fort Lauderdale at 9:45 a.m. local time and, due to the location’s closeness to Cuba, landed just 51 minutes later in Santa Clara. And according to CBS News, pending further governmental approval, as many as 10 different airlines may be operating over 110 flights between the two newfound allies in the near future.
(Via New York Times, CBS News and USA Today)