The United States and Cuba have signed an arrangement that provides for the re-establishment of scheduled air services between the two former foes for the first time in over fifty years.

Following the signing ceremony at a hotel in Havana on February 16, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) invited US air carriers to apply for scheduled passenger and cargo traffic rights. The DOT’s order states that applications are due March 2, 2016; answers to applications are due March 14, 2016; and replies to those answers are due March 21, 2016.

The new arrangement provides each country with the opportunity to operate up to twenty daily roundtrip flights between the United States and Havana International. The arrangement also provides each country with the opportunity to operate up to ten daily roundtrip flights between the United States and each of Cuba’s nine other international airports - Camagüey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo del Sur, Cienfuegos, Holguin, Manzanillo Sierra Maestra, Santa Clara de Cuba, Santiago de Cuba, and Varadero - providing US carriers with the opportunity to operate up to a total of 110 daily roundtrip flights between the United States and Cuba.

The Department added that the arrangement does not limit charter services, meaning that no DOT allocation procedures are needed and charter flights can continue as before.