TAMPA — Charter flights from Tampa International Airport have flown hundreds of thousands of people to Cuba in just four years. But next year, thousands more could be headed to Cuba as the United States and Cuba iron out a deal to allow more than 100 regular commercial flights to and from the island and the U.S. mainland.
The Federal Aviation Administration will accept queries from airlines interested in offering commercial service to Havana and other destinations in Cuba. Havana Air announced recently that passengers could book flights to Cuba on its website starting in January. Silver Airways, a discount airline based in Fort Lauderdale, also announced its intent to offer flights to Cuba in 2016.
While no major carriers — like American or JetBlue — have said publicly that they’ll try to offer flights to Cuba, it would make sense to do so from Tampa International Airport, said Ken Qualls, CEO of Flight Management Solutions in Boca Raton, an aviation consulting firm.
“The general attitude has changed a lot — there’s a lot of excitement right now about going to Cuba,” Qualls said. “But it will be a very competitive and varied process for the FAA to develop.”
Since charter services began offering flights in 2011, more than 226,240 passengers have flown from Tampa to Cuba, said Chris Minner, vice president of marketing at Tampa International Airport. The airport has seen double-digit growth rates in the number of passengers using TIA to get to Cuba, Minner said. That includes a 16 percent spike in travelers as of October for 2015.
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