American Airlines coincidentally kick started the first regularly scheduled US commercial flights to Havana, Cuba on Monday, just as the country entered a state of formal mourning over Fidel Castro.
Flight AA17 touched down only three days after Fidel Castro’s death – the man who allegedly played a big role in the suspension of US-Cuba services back in the 1960s.
American Airlines told media that the timing of the flight was completely coincidental, as it had not organised the service specifically for those wishing to pay their respects to the longtime ruler.
Although JetBlue was the first airline to officially break the 1961 no-air travel rule back in September with flights to Santa Clara, American Airlines’ service is the first regularly scheduled commercial flight to touch down in Havana.
The airline’s plane touched down at Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport at around 8.30am on Monday (local time), and was followed by a JetBlue service from New York.
Prior to Monday’s flight, airlines such as JetBlue were limited to flying to smaller Cuban cities.
The American Airlines Miami-Havana service will operate daily and will be accompanied with another daily service from Charlotte New York.
