• Submitted by: Juana
• Travel and Tourism
• Camagüey
• Destinations
• United States
• 11 / 15 / 2016

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The first flight to Cuba by American company Southwest Airlines arrived on Sunday at Juan G. Gómez International Airport, near Varadero resort, with 143 passengers on board, and it starts operations with two daily flights from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The Boeing 737-700 touched Cuban soil yesterday noon and, according to Manuel de Oyarzabal Castellanos, one of the company's 17 executives who traveled on this inaugural flight, this is the beginning of other operations by this airline that will also reach cities like Havana and Santa Clara.
Steve Goldberg, Vice President Ground Operations of the airline, confessed being excited about this opening and stated that the employees worked hard to open that route and a new chapter for people wanting to visit Cuba.
Passengers from Fort Lauderdale International Airport, mostly Cubans based in the United States, wore yarey hats and Cuban flags and expressed their satisfaction to arrive in just 45 minutes, on a comfortable and fast trip.
Juan Gualberto Gómez International Airport, in this so-called high tourism season, receives 140 flights a week from various nations, including four daily flights from the United States.
Southwest Airlines is based in Dallas and has 46 years of experience, distinguishes itself by serving more than 100 million customers each year, and operates more than 3900 flights per day through a network of 99 destinations in the United States and eight other countries, with Cuba among them from now on.
Oyarzabal Castellanos said that although the inhabitants of the United States cannot travel to Cuba because there are laws in their country that do not allow it, the interest of the Americans grows to know and approach the Caribbean island and for this they use the cultural, academic, religious and educational exchange, among other modalities.