Chicago - Nonstop flights to Cuba starting soon

O'Hare airport announcing the beginning of charter nonstop flights to Havana.

http://www.flychicago.com/PDF/News/Cuba_ORD_service.pdf

Tickets at http://www.ctcharters.com/

That's an interesting development. I wonder how much traffic they are expecting.

This past Friday Sky King ferried the a/c in from HAV and departed with 23 passengers back down. Departure was 30 minutes late due to everyone being photo happy. ^

Has the general tourist travel ban been lifted for Cuba?

I looked and the US State Department web site and it doesn't look like you can just buy a ticket and go.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1097.html

If you look at the charter website it describes the various legal purposes for travel (e.g. family, certain business, etc.).

Are inbound pax from Cuba processed the same way as everybody else or do they get extra scrutiny?

Hi, I was on that inaugural flight, and most of us were traveling from Minneapolis as a group on a religious activities visa (to network with and help Cuban churches in our denomination), except for a couple of people who were going to visit relatives.

The restrictions have been relaxed a bit, but you still can't go there legally just to lie in the sun at Varadero.

Yes, check-in did take a long time, because they were training in new staff, and they had cake and coffee for us at the gate.

Since there were so few passengers, most of us had a row to ourselves. Only cold, non-alcoholic beverages were available, but they served a ham and cheese sandwich.

On the way back, we went through no extra scrutiny landing at ORD. I just told Immigration that I had been in Cuba on a religious activities visa. I had the paperwork to prove it, but the official I talked to didn't ask to see it. When I went through Customs, the official just asked me what I had bought, and I told the truth: a couple of CDs (legal under a religious license) and some craft items made by members of the religious denominations that we interacted with. He just waved me through.

They are mainly on the lookout for attempts to smuggle in cigars, rum, and coffee.

Hi, I was on that inaugural flight, and most of us were traveling from Minneapolis as a group on a religious activities visa

Great to have a first-hand account, thanks.