Charter flights between Miami and Cienfuegos resume

The Cuban authorities announced theresumption of charter flights between Miami and Cienfuegos, interrupted in 2017.

Laifrez Fernández Montes de Oca, director of the "Jaime González" International Airport of Cienfuegos, revealed to the newspaperSeptember 5 that initially the flights will be on Mondays and Fridays at noon.

"This is a very good opportunity for residents abroad and those who live here to visit Florida," he said.

The official added that tickets can be purchased through Havanatur agencies in Cuba, as well as authorized agencies in Miami.

The reopening of these flights especially benefits Cienfuegos residents living in Florida, who will now no longer have to travel first to the Santa Clara or Varadero airports and then travel to the Pearl of the South.

"Our airport has a privileged location to offer services to other areas in the center of the country," stressed Fernández Montes de Oca.

On December 8, after several years without operating international commercial flights, connections were reactivated at the Cienfuegos air terminal with flights from Canada, which have two frequencies on Friday afternoons: Montreal-Cienfuegos and Toronto-Cienfuegos. by Sunwing Airlines.

"We are in a position to handle the transportation of all these clients," said an airport representative at the time.

With the capacity to receive small and medium-sized aircraft, the Jaime González offers service to Cienfuegos and the entire south-central coast of Cuba, with connections to several destinations.

Hefirst charter flight from Miami landed at that terminal in September 2016, after the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with the United States.

The American Airlines flight was received with the usual water arch and the formal ribbon cutting, which crystallized the inauguration of the daily trips to the Pearl of the South.

In January 2020, the administration ofDonald Trump suspended those flights to the interior of Cuba and limited those directed to Havana.

The then Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, explained that the measure would affect nine Cuban airports and would come into effect on March 10 of that year.

Five months later,The United States once again authorized charter flights to Cuba but with limits: 3,600 per year and operated mostly by the companies Swift Air and World Atlantic.

In June 2022,Joe Biden suspended that limit and removed all restrictions on airline options authorized to operate charter flights to Cuba.