FedEx first cargo carrier approved for Cuba

OREANDA-NEWS. July 25, 2016. Cargo airline FedEx has received a two-year permit from the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to make scheduled flights to Cuba, the first cargo carrier to win such approval.

Starting on 15 January, FedEx will fly daily between Miami and the city of Matanzas on Cuba's northern coast, 100km west of Havana.

The permit follows a series of commercial flight permits that expand a thaw in relations between Washington and Havana that started in December 2014.

US flights to Cuba were suspended more than 50 years ago as part of Washington's economic embargo on the island.

FedEx had originally filed for approval to fly between Miami and Havana, using a Boeing 757-200SF aircraft, starting 1 September 2016.

But the company changed its request last month, seeking approval for the Miami-Matanzas route using a smaller Cessna 208 aircraft, DOT said.

Cuba is "making all necessary arrangements" to ensure adequate jet fuel supply to meet increased demand when US airlines start commercial service in September, Cuba's state-run oil company Cupet tells Argus.