Above: Cienfuegos, Cuba

By the Caribbean Journal staff

For the first time, you can now book flights from the US to Cuba directly online.

Booking firm CheapAir.com announced that it had become the first online travel agency to allow US travelers to book flights to Cuba.

The flights are those currently operated as charter flights by major airlines; travel to Cuba is still limited to trips that meet one of 12 specific purposes of travel.

“Since the rule change, we have seen a surge in search volumes for travel to Cuba.” said Jeff Klee, CEO of CheapAir. “Arranging flights to Cuba is a little complicated, but it’s the kind of thing we’re good at and our technology platform is flexible enough to make it possible. Our team did a great job building it out in just a few weeks’ time.”

Right now, the company is booking daily flights chartered by Cuba Travel Services between Miami and Havana.

Those are joined by flights between New York’s John F Kennedy Airport and Cuba on some Tuesdays, and between Tampa and Havana on Sunday and Thursday.

Other flights from major US cities are generally routed through other cities like Mexico City.

The flights are operated by Sun Country.

Not all of the flights are direct.