Commercial Flights To Cuba Are About To Take Off

Looking to cross Cuba off your travel bucket list? Your options for getting there are about to expand. The United States and Cuba have reached an agreement to resume regularly scheduled commercial air travel between the two countries, the U.S. State Department confirmed today. While travel for tourism alone technically remains off-limits, the move is expected to lead to a major increase in the number of Americans visiting the island. "This arrangement will continue to allow charter operations and establish scheduled air service, which will facilitate an increase in authorized travel, enhance traveler choices, and promote people-to-people links between the two countries," the State Department said in a statement. The deal will allow as many as 110 scheduled flights a day, according to the Associated Press, creating a path for many more visitors from the U.S. Travel to Cuba has skyrocketed during the year since the two countries announced that they would start to restore diplomatic relations, the AP reported. The agreement, announced on the anniversary of the Cold War détente between the U.S. and Cuba, comes just a week after officials announced that they would resume direct mail services as well. Don't reach for your wallet and favorite travel-booking site quite yet, though. It'll likely take months for the full flight schedule to take off.