JetBlue and Airline Brokers Inc. team up to offer flights to Havana from the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida. These photos document the inaugural flight on September 17, 2011.
US-Cuba Flights
More than 100 passengers wait to check in for the first flight from Fort Lauderdale to Cuba since 1987. More U.S. airports are now offering charter flights to Cuba after the Obama administration loosened travel restrictions in January.
Edeisi Yero, 60, is traveling to Cuba to visit his mother. He says the ability to leave from Fort Lauderdale is a major benefit for Cuban-Americans, who, before this year, could only take direct flights from Miami, New York or Los Angeles.
The one-hour flight between Fort Lauderdale and Havana will run every Saturday to and from the island. JetBlue is operating the flights through Airline Brokers Company, Inc.
Vivian Mannerud is president and founder of Airline Brokers, the charter company behind this flight and others to Cuba. She says anything that makes traveling to Cuba more normal is cause for celebration.
Attendants serve cake and Cuban food to celebrate the inaugural flight.
US-Cuba Flights
Live musicians provide the day's soundtrack...
US-Cuba Flights
...as passengers dance and shake their complimentary maracas.
Many travelers use the flights to bring food, medicine and other items to their relatives.
US-Cuba Flights
To make way for all the extra cargo, Cuba flights often carry fewer passengers than the plane can typically handle.
Cubans of all generations prepare for takeoff.
Even pets are welcome.
Irelys Uzcategui-Alvarez is returning to Cuba for the first time in 10 years.
She says the Fort Lauderdale flight is closer to her house and a much more convenient option.
US-Cuba Flights
At the gate, passengers wait to board.
US-Cuba Flights
US-Cuba Flights
This is the first time in more than two decades that Havana has been seen as a destination on the monitor at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Manuel Marquez looks forward to seeing his mother, siblings and wife, who remain in Cuba.
Marquez describes this new option for visiting the island as "marvelous".
Clara Ramos, 76, has lived in the United States for 11 years and is thankful for the opportunity to visit Cuba and her son and seven siblings. She says she is happy to be both Cuban and American.
A water salute bids the plane farewell as it takes off down the runway.