First commercial US-Havana flight lands in ramped-up travel
HAVANA — Just three days after the death of Fidel Castro, the first scheduled commercial flight from the U.S. to Havana in more than 50 years landed Monday to the applause of passengers and a water-spraying salute from firetrucks.
But the wheels didn’t even hit the ground before the warming ties initiated by President Barack Obama were thrown into doubt by President-elect Donald Trump, who has tweeted that he might “terminate” the detente. The travel industry, among others, hopes otherwise.
Passengers from Miami, wearing straw hats provided by American Airlines with the word “Cuba” on the back, were greeted with welcome signs in various languages, but no music. They arrived during an official mourning period, as Cubans packed Havana’s Plaza of the Revolution to join an homage to Castro, and a state-sanctioned live music ban hushed the capital’s usually festive nightlife.
The landing “was very emotional for me,” said Jonathan Gonzalez, 31, a Cuban-American born in Miami who said it was his third time visiting the island.