US, Cuba to restore commercial flights

The United States and Cuba have agreed to restore regular commercial flights, a move that could pave the way for thousands of visitors to the Spanish speaking Caribbean nation, on a daily basis.

The deal was announced on Thursday, exactly one year since President Barack Obama and President Raul Castro announced ease on the strained relations between both countries.

While U.S. law still bars travel to Cuba for tourists, the deal is expected to increase authorized travel between both nations.

It is not known when the first Cuba-bound flights will take off.

In a statement on Thursday, US President Barak Obama, touted the steps the U.S. has taken to normalize relations with Cuba in the past year and called on Congress to lift its embargo.

In May, the U.S. removed Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, an act that led to the reopening of embassies months later.

Last week, the U.S. and Cuba announced they would resume direct postal services between both nations several times a week, alleviating the need to rely on routing mail through a third country.

Details of that deal are expected to be finalized in coming weeks.

On December 17, 2013, Cuban President Raul Castro and Obama announced the normalization of relations after more than 50 years of hostility between both countries.