Southwest’s Tampa to Havana Flight Makes History

TAMPA, FL — Southwest Airlines made history Monday morning when its Flight 3952 took off from Tampa International Airport bound for Havana. Not only did the flight mark Havana as Southwest’s 100th travel destination, it was also the first commercial flight to run between the two cities in 50 years.

Southwest announced its plans to provide nonstop service between Tampa and Havana back in October. Southwest was one of 12 American airline companies that applied for permission to run regularly scheduled passenger and cargo service to Havana. Airlines that received tentative approval in October to launch flights were Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lone, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines.

The agreement that opened the door for nonstop commercial flights was signed by officials from both the Cuban and American governments on Feb. 16. The arrangement allows travel under one of 12 authorized categories and provides each country the ability to fly up to 20 daily round-trip flights between the U.S. and Havana.

Southwest’s Monday flight out of Tampa took off around 6:15 a.m. with 175 passengers on board the sold-out flight, according to the Tampa Bay Times. To celebrate the historic flight, Southwest officials provided passengers with hats and flags to wave for a photo. That image was quickly posted to Twitter, showing smiling faces aboard the packed plane.

The trip to Havana reportedly took just under an hour.

Earlier this year, the Carnival Corporation also made history when it began offering cruises to Cuba. The company’s new Fathom set sail for the first time to Cuba on May 1.

Just last week, Royal Caribbean announced its intentions to run two cruises between Tampa and Cuba in 2017.

Tampa residents who want to hop on board a flight or cruise to Havana will have to meet a number of regulations. The 12 categories of travel allowed include family visits, journalistic activity, professional research, religious activities and educational activities, among others. To find out more, visit the U.S. Treasury online.

Image via Shutterstock