Now United Wants to Restart Flights to Cuba

United Airlines is hoping to join American and JetBlue by resuming flights from the U.S. to Cuba, according to Reuters News Service.

The carrier originally stopped flights to the Caribbean island nation in March of 2020 due to the pandemic but told the media outlet that it has been working “for months” to resume the flights and has asked the Department of Transportation for a 30-day waiver to continue to assess the situation.

United said it must first “undertake significant work including re-negotiating multiple contracts with service providers that have lapsed, building out necessary infrastructure in Terminal 3 at Havana’s airport where United is being relocated.”

The DOT has an October 31 deadline for airlines to submit applications to fly, or resume flights, to Cuba. After the Trump administration curtailed flights to Cuba by domestic commercial airlines, the Biden administration has restored the practice. The strongest signal came earlier this week.

On Monday, the DOT approved increased flights to Cuba for both American and JetBlue. American is allowed to add 13 more weekly flights to Havana from its hub in Miami, while JetBlue will add a flight to Havana from Fort Lauderdale. American already has six daily flights to Cuba and JetBlue has three.

The U.S. earlier this year approved flights to smaller airports in Cuba “in support of the Cuban people, and in the foreign policy interests of the United States,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the time.