American Airlines first US carrier to start belly cargo services to Cuba

June 04, 2018: American Airlines will now offer mail service, including correspondence, parcels and express mail, into and out of José Martí International Airport (HAV) in Havana, Cuba’s capital city and leading commercial center.

With this, it becomes the first US passenger carrier to begin cargo service in Cuba.

Havana is American’s principal destination from the US with one daily fight from Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) and four daily flights from Miami International Airport (MIA) scheduled to increase to five daily flights in October. The MIA flights are operated with Boeing 737-800 aircraft and the CLT flight is operated with the Airbus A319.

“As the leading US carrier to Cuba we are excited to launch cargo service to the island,” said David Vance, American's vice president – Cargo Operations. “Our teams on the ground in the US and in Cuba have worked hard to make this a reality. This new service will benefit families in both countries.

American operates nine daily flights to five destinations in the country, including flights between MIA and HAV, Holguin (HOG), Santa Clara (SNU), Varadero (VRA) and Camagüey (CMW), and between CLT and HAV.

The carrier has served Cuba since 1991 – with charter service for more than 25 years and with scheduled service since September 2016.