Havana int'l airport resumes operation after lockdown due to pandemic-Eastday

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Havana int'l airport resumes operation after lockdown due to pandemic

From:Xinhua | 2020-11-16 11:49

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Passengers keep social distancing at the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuba, Nov. 15, 2020. Havana's Jose Marti International Airport resumed operation on Sunday after being closed for more than seven months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Yamil Lage/AFP/Pool via Xinhua)

by Yosley Carrero

HAVANA, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- With a plane carrying passengers from Miami landing, Havana's Jose Marti International Airport resumed operation on Sunday after being closed for more than seven months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Manuel Lopez, director general of the airport, told media that rigorous biosafety and disinfecting procedures are in place and in line with international standards.

"So far, we have operated four domestic flights and eleven international ones from the United States," he said. "We are very happy with the implication of the sanitary measures."

On the first day, more than 20 commercial flights from North America, Europe, Central America and the Caribbean have landed in the country's capital, according to Cuban civil aviation authorities.

Tourists and Cuban residents have been subjected to temperature checks and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on arrival in line with the country's post-pandemic recovery plan.

"Visitors should stay at hotel facilities, houses for rent or relatives' places under movement restrictions until they are notified about the PCR test results," said Francisco Duran, national director of epidemiology at the Cuban Ministry of Public Health.

On the fifth day of their stay on the island, all visitors must do the PCR test again in order to confirm the negative result.

The reopening comes ahead of the peak season for tourism on the island, which runs from December through March.

According to official figures, more than 60 percent of tourists arriving on the island every year visit Havana's historical downtown center.

Cuba suspended international flights in late March and partially reopened borders in early July for tourists interested in visiting the northern and southern parts of the country.

Since mid-October, airports in all provinces except capital Havana restarted operation.

Mandy Suarez, who works as a taxi driver in the country's capital, said the arrival of international passengers to Havana will considerably improve private sector employees' earnings.

"It is a very good piece of news for taxi drivers, restaurateurs, and tour guides because international travelers bring hard currencies," he said while waiting at a parking lot outside the airport. "We have to be cautious to minimize the risk of COVID-19 contagion, but it will help our economy recover, indeed."

The reopening of Havana's international airport also benefits thousands of Cuban nationals living in the United States and their families on the island after the current U.S. administration barred U.S. airlines from flying to all destinations in the Caribbean nation except Havana.

Havana resident Marina Diaz, a 79-year-old housewife from Vibora Park district, said she had been longing for the moment when her son could finally visit the island.

"I have been waiting for this moment for so long," said Diaz. "Now, my relatives living in Miami can visit the country. I am so happy. I can barely put it into words."

So far, 131 people have died from COVID-19 in Cuba and 22 new daily cases were registered on Sunday, bringing the total caseload to 7,590. Enditem

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Passengers wearing face masks are seen at the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuba, Nov. 15, 2020. Havana's Jose Marti International Airport resumed operation on Sunday after being closed for more than seven months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Yamil Lage/AFP/Pool via Xinhua)