Sept. 3-9: DOT Announces Nonstops to Havana; Delta to Start Cuba Service in Dec.; Lufthansa Joins TSA Precheck; & Chinese Airline Receives Flack for “Racist” Advice

DOT Announces Nonstops to Havana

If you’ve been waiting with baited breathe on when the Department of Transportation will assign routes for U.S. based airlines for flights to Havana, the wait is finally over. This past Wednesday the DOT finally announced which cities will have nonstop flights to the capital of Cuba. Of the 20 daily flights approved, a majority of the flights will be from the East Coast, with a bulk of the flights originating from cities in Florida, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. And if you don’t live in Florida, New York City/Newark or Charlotte, your options for nonstop will be limited to flights on Delta Air Lines from Atlanta and Alaska Airlines from Los Angeles.

More Cuba Related News

On Wednesday, American Airlines became the second U.S. carrier to fly commercial flights to Cuba in over 50 years. American’s first flight was a nonstop between Miami and Cienfeugos, located on the southern coast of Cuba. And this Sunday American will start more weekly flights to other Cuban cities of Holguin, Santa Clara, Camaguey and Varadero. This follows JetBlue Airways history making flight the week prior on Aug. 31.

While we’re still on the topic of commercial flights to Cuba, Delta this week also announce that they will start their service to Cuba on Dec. 1. Nonstop flights to Havana will be available from New York-JFK, which has the second largest Cuban-American population in the U.S., as well as Miami, which has the country’s largest Cuban-American population. Tickets will go on sale on Sept. 10.

Lufthansa joins TSA Precheck

For travelers who fly with Lufthansa on a regular basis, here’s a bit of good news: they are the first European airline to join the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Precheck program. The advantage of the Precheck program is the ability to go through security lines at the airport without removing their shoes and light jackets, and laptops and liquids from their carry-on bags. You can sign up for the program by providing background information, fingerprints. It costs $85 for five years.

Random News Item of the Week: Chinese Airline Receives Flack for “Racist” Advice

Air China, Asia’s third largest airline, has come under fire for doling out “racist” advice about London in a travel article about London in its in-flight magazine, Wings of China. The article was published in English and Chinese stated that “London is generally a safe place to travel, however precautions are needed when entering areas mainly populated by Indians, Pakistanis and black people.” Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, an official for Tooting, home to one of the largest Indian and Pakistani populations in London, said “I think that it is offensive to Londoners and I would like to see it removed. I would also like to ask the airline why they thought these precautions needed to be taken.” He added that he’s planning on “writing to the Chinese Ambassador to invite him to visit Tooting in London, where all races live side by side. Then they can see how we live and our wonderfully diverse community.” Air China hasn’t responded to MailOnline Travel’s request for a comment.

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