The United States and Cuba will sign a bilateral agreement to restore regular flights between the two countries after more than half a century. While US law prohibits travel to Cuba for tourist activities, this arrangement will facilitate authorized travel. Up to 20 direct flights daily will be permitted from the US to Havana, and 10 more to another nine international airports in Cuba. The memorandum of understanding will be signed on February 17 in Havana by Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and his Cuban counterpart, Adel Yzquierdo.

The accord is part of the process currently underway to restore relations between the US and Cuba. On December 17, 2014, Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro announced the beginning of a process to normalize bilateral relations that led to the reopening of the two countries’ respective embassies in Havana and Washington in July 2015, after a gap of over 50 years.

Commercial flights between Cuba and the United States were cancelled 53 years ago but since the mid-1970s authorized charter flights have been allowed under certain conditions. The accord will permit the continuation of charter airlines’ existing operations, which amount to between 10 and 15 flights a day to Cuba.