Monday, November 28, 2016

JetBlue’s 1st Commercial Flight to Cuba to Depart John F. Kennedy International Airport as Island Nation Mourns Fidel Castro

JetBlue’s first commercial flight to Havana will take off from John F. Kennedy Airport on Monday morning — a milestone that comes as the island nation mourns Fidel Castro, who died just last week. 

The regularly scheduled flight takes off at 8:58 a.m. and will land in the Cuban capital of Havana.

Along with JetBlue, American Airlines is also running a short, one-hour commercial flight from Miami to Havana on Monday. Delta Air Lines has scheduled regular flights to Cuba, including from New York City, starting on Dec. 1. 

The Queens-based airline announced Monday that it was canceling a concert planned for 7 a.m. at JFK. The event, which was to include a musical band and dancing, was scrapped because of Castro’s sudden death on Friday, JetBlue security personnel confirmed. 

Back in Havana, tens of thousands of people are expected to pay their respects to Castro at the Plaza de la Revolución on Monday before his ashes are taken across the country. The event in the plaza is part of an eight-day period of mourning for the polarizing, yet revolutionary former Cuban leader.

There’s no dancing, drinking or partying in Havana, as no kind of celebration is allowed during the mourning period.

A number of airlines, including Frontier, Southwest, Spirit and United will also start flights in the coming weeks.

Back in July, JetBlue officially began direct flights to Cuba out of JFK when a charter flight flew to Havana's Jose Marti International Airport.

Story and video:  http://www.nbcnewyork.com

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