US-based HavanaAirCharters has once again teamed up with the ‘new’ Eastern Air Lines to further expand its network between the US and Cuba. The company is one of the largest providers of passenger traffic to the island, currently operating some 65 flights a month to Havana from Miami with additional service to Santa Clara and Camaguey.

The new weekly HavanaAir link between Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Havana will launch in August and will complement its twice daily service to Havana and weekly service to Camaguey and Santa Clara from Miami. The flights are all operated using Boeing 737-800 equipment from Eastern Air Lines.

"We are very pleased to open the Houston to Cuba market with our valued partner, Eastern Air Lines. HavanaAir has strived to extend the utmost in customer services to the island, and our partnership with Eastern has proven to provide an entirely new level of service to Cuba with their Next Generation Boeing aircraft, truly professional crew and support staff," said Mark Elias, president and chief operating officer, HavanaAir Charters.

US Treasury and Commerce Department officials are moving quickly to tear down regulatory barriers to American citizens’ ability to travel, conduct financial dealings and export products to Cuba, ending a 54-year-old American trade embargo against Cuba.

The doors into Cuba are opening, but tourism infrastructure in Cuba remains limited and since the federal government announced new rules for visiting Cuba in early 2015, opening up the possibility of Cuban tourism for a broad range of Americans, demand has been on the rise. More Flights, ferries, and cruise packages between the US and the formerly off-limits island nation are being introduced to cater for this demand.