A historic flight took off from Florida on Wednesday morning: The first commercial flight from the U.S. to Cuba in more than a half century departed from Fort Lauderdale.
- 1st commercial flight from US to Cuba in 50 years takes off from Florida
- JetBlue Flight 387 left Fort Lauderdale for Santa Clara, Cuba
- Flight marks new era of travel between 2 countries
Airport crews looked on as JetBlue Flight 387 took off from with 150 passengers and landed in Santa Clara, Cuba.
The flight signals a new era of travel between the two countries after a trade embargo and formal U.S. travel ban went into effect in the early 1960s. Tourism is still prohibited to Cuba, but new travel rules make it easier for Americans to go there.
Some Americans say they want to see the communist country while it remains stuck in a Cold War time warp.
"Our friends had been here and said, 'Why don't you come to Cuba before its too Westernized?' " said Gerri Hall, a U.S. citizen visiting Cuba.
As many as 110 daily flights from 10 airlines will eventually depart from the U.S.
The last commercial flight from the U.S. to Cuba was shortly after the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Information from TWC's NY1 was used in this report.