Families and cultural organizations from the Tampa Bay area will now save time and money with direct flights to Cuba. After years of working on behalf of Tampa’s Cuban-American families, Congresswoman Kathy Castor announced today that a charter airline company has received the first landing rights for flights from Tampa International Airport to Havana. This significant development means that direct, nonstop flights can start as early as September from Tampa to the island nation.

“This is the last piece of the puzzle,” Castor said. “This is fantastic news for the Tampa Bay community. The Tampa Bay region has one of the highest Cuban-American populations in this country, but for too long, families have had to travel to Miami in order to get to Cuba. They have had to spend extra money for hotel rooms and plane tickets to do so, making an already expensive journey even more cumbersome. Tampa Bay’s Cuban-Americans deserve the same seamless access to the island nation as those who live in the Miami area. I have heard the struggles of those with limited travel opportunities to Cuba, especially for families trying to visit loved ones or see sick or dying relatives.”

In what may prove to be the first of many charter companies to secure landing rights in the near future, ABC Charters received permission from the Cuban government to land direct flights from Tampa in Havana. ABC Charters plans to start flights as early as Sept. 10.

“ABC Charters is proud to facilitate the reunification of the Cuban American families in Tampa and the adjoining areas,” said Tessie Aral, president of ABC Charters, Inc. “They no longer will need to drive several hours to Miami so they can visit their families in Cuba.”

Castor has been working for years to have Tampa International Airport designated an airport for charter flights to Cuba. She sent several letters, beginning with a letter to President-elect Obama in December 2008, requesting a fresh look at U.S.-Cuban relations and lifting travel restrictions for families.

 In 2009, she continued putting pressure on the administration, communicating with officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the National Security Council as well as with Commerce Secretary Locke, Secretary of State Clinton, and Treasury Secretary Geithner.

In 2010, Castor cosponsored a bill that would open travel to Cuba to all Americans, again stepping up pressure on the administration to approve charter airline flights to Cuba from Tampa International. Castor was the first member of Congress from Florida to call for modernization of the longstanding ban on traveling to Cuba.

“We worked hard to make sure Tampa International Airport was designated an entry/exit point to Cuba, and we continued working so that landing rights could be secured in Havana. Tampa Bay area families now will be able to travel directly from their TPA to Cuba to visit their loved ones in the island nation.”