Delta Air Lines’ first flights in recent memory from Atlanta to Havana are scheduled to begin Dec. 7, a charter operator licensed to arrange travel to Cuba announced Wednesday.
The charter flights would operate Wednesdays using Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 158 seats, including 16 first-class seats, the Marazul charter and travel agency said in a news release.
But not just anyone can just walk up to a ticket counter at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and book a flight: Only people whose travel falls under certain categories can be authorized to travel to Cuba, Marazul says on its website.
The agency also said that the Marazul-Delta partnership on Sunday, Nov. 6 would begin weekly flights to Havana from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Additionally, Marazul-Delta on Oct. 1 will start flying Miami to Havana three times a week, on Saturdays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. There also will be two weekly Miami-to-Camaguey flights, on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Hartsfield-Jackson in March announced that it had received federal approval to serve as a port of entry for charter flights restricted to those with "purposeful travel" to and from Cuba. At the time, Delta said it was already licensed to operate charter flights to Cuba and expected to begin nonstop charter flights from Atlanta to Cuba later this year.
The Atlanta airport was approved by U.S. Customs and Border Protection as one of several new U.S. gateways to Cuba. The move allows charter flights for passengers with close relatives in Cuba, for those who are involved in the medical or agricultural business sectors, or for education or religious activities.
Other airports that already had the authority included Los Angeles, New York’s JFK and Miami. Along with Atlanta, seven more airports were newly authorized for flights to Cuba, including Baltimore/Washington International, Dallas/Fort Worth, New Orleans, Chicago O'Hare, Pittsburgh, Tampa and San Juan.
The new approvals came after President Barack Obama decided to ease restrictions on flights to and from Cuba and allow eligible airports to seek approval for flights to or from Cuba. The administration began allowing Cuban-Americans to make unlimited family visits in 2009.
But the relaxed travel rules have engendered political resistance.
Two Republican congressman from South Florida are proposing legislation that would roll back regulations on travel to Cuba to more restrictive policies in place under President George W. Bush, the Miami Herald reported earlier this month.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Marazul expects 400,000 people would visit the island legally from the U.S. this year, up from 324,000 last year.
-- Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi contributed to this article.
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