Cuba now receiving scheduled flights from the USA

EVEN though there have been plenty of charter flights to Cuba from the US over the years, August 31 saw the first commercial flight to the former cold war enemy for more than 50 years when a Jet Blue aircraft left Fort Lauderdale in Florida.

The historic flight which was manned by a crew of Cuban-Americans carried the US transport secretary as well as the chairman of the airline and it is expected that other US airlines will quickly follow suit.

Naturally, there are still plenty of obstacles ahead as despite the trumpeting of the normalisation of relationships between the two countries, the US has not yet repealed a law which does not allow simple tourists to jump on a plane to visit Cuba.

Anyone who travels has to sign an online statement that they are eligible to travel under one of 12 categories which include having family in Cuba and travelling for educational purposes although at the moment it appears unlikely that the statements will be examined too thoroughly.

Currently there are no plans in place for flights to capital Havana and although Cuba is desperate for the tourist dollar it appears that it would be unable to cope with a sudden influx of new visitors to that city.

At least in a world still riven by hostility this is one small step for harmony.