Delta Air Lines is among the eight U.S. carriers to win nonstop routes to Havana, the federal government announced Thursday.
The U.S. Department of Transportation granted service to the Cuban capital from large U.S. cities or those with significant Cuban-American populations. The cities are Atlanta, Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York City, Orlando and Tampa.
Delta won routes to Havana from Atlanta, Miami and New York. The Atlanta-based carrier dominates Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and has about 10,000 employees locally.
Miami has the largest Cuban-American population in the United States while the New York City area has the second-largest number. Atlanta is Delta's biggest hub and boasts the world's busiest airport with more than 100 million passengers passing through annually.
President Obama restored diplomatic relations with Cuba in December 2014 after a half-century of economic sanctions against the communist nation. In February, the DOT said it would allow commercial flights to Cuba later this year. Airlines scrambled to submit proposals, with many of the large carriers holding out for the Havana slots.
The DOT last month approved routes to other cities in Cuba. It gave Mendota Heights-based Sun Country Airlines the right to fly from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to Santa Clara, the capital of Villa Clara province in central Cuba, and Matanzas, another provincial capital on the country's north coast not far from Havana.
All routes must still be approved by Cuban authorities.
If that happens, Delta will begin selling seats to Havana this summer. Sun Country has not yet released information on when it will begin selling seats or starting service from MSP.
