Direct flights between Havana and Mérida will resume after many years, La Jornada Maya reports. An official announcement is expected in April.
Sources close to Aeromar Airlines confirmed that by May, Mérida and Havana will have restored this historic air route.
Already, an Italian airline stops in Havana en route to Milan or Rome, but typically Yucatán’s passengers to Cuba — which is under 500 miles away — fly the opposite direction, to Mexico City, before connecting to the Caribbean nation. With the newly restored route, a nearly six-hour journey will be cut down to an hour and 15 minutes.
Mexicana Airlines used to fly a DC10 between Mérida and Havana three days a week, but that route was discontinued in 1990. The airline went out of business in 2010.
The April announcement is expected to elaborate on the number of flights to be scheduled from the peninsula to the island.
Last year was Cuba’s turning point for international relations, particularly after Mexico’s government officials met Cuban President Raúl Castro in Mérida to sign several agreements strengthening economic ties. Cuba and the U.S. restored diplomatic relations in 2015 as well.
