Southwest Airlines Adds New Daily Flight to Havana

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Fast-expanding Southwest Airlines has added another daily flight to the Caribbean.

The carrier has officially launched a third daily nonstop flight between Fort Lauderdale and Havana, Cuba.

Southwest now operates a total of three daily flights from Fort Lauderdale to Havana, with flights departing Fort Lauderdale at 9:35 AM, 12:15 PM and 3:50 PM every day.

Old Havana.

The Havana-Fort Lauderdale flights operate at 9:20 AM, 11:55 AM and 2:35 PM every day, with the flights typically running 1 hour and 15 minutes in each direction.

The new Cuba flights are part of what seems to be new momentum for travel to Cuba.

The bar at the Saratoga hotel in Havana.

While many carriers reduced their frequencies to the island in the last year, several carriers have actually begun expanding service to Cuba.

JetBlue, for example, is launching a new route from Boston to Havana in November, while also adding additional flights from Fort Lauderdale to Havana.

Southwest is one of several carriers adding more flights to Havana.

United Airlines is also ramping up its Cuba service, with now-daily flights from Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Havana and

And finally Delta Air Lines, too, is adding a second daily nonstop flight between Miami and Havana.

Old Havana at night.

While pure tourism to Cuba remains prohibited for Americans, there are still a range of licenses available for particular categories of travel, though even qualifying under one of them is easier said than done.

The safest and easiest way to travel to Cuba remains visiting the island on a group tour with a licensed tour operator.

— CJ