New flights begin from LAX to Cuba
Angelenos with family in Cuba will have another option for travel today, when a Long Beach-based company kicks off nonstop flights from LAX to Havana.
The five-hour flight, which will run every Tuesday and can accommodate 150 people, takes off from L.A. at 11 a.m. and is the only Cuban flight for Cuba Travel since July 2004, when the Bush administration tightened rules governing travel to Cuba, according to the company.
Since 1962, travel from the U.S. to Cuba has been banned, but Cuban Americans have been allowed to visit family under various policies. Obama repealed the 2004 travel restrictions in April. According to Cuba Travel, 1.5 million Cubans live in the United States. About 55,000 reside in Los Angeles County.
For details, see The Times' Daily Travel & Deal Blog.
-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City
