DOT Approves FedEx For First Scheduled All-Cargo Service to Cuba

15 July 2016

DOT Approves First Scheduled All-Cargo Service to Cuba. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) approved FedEx’s uncontested application to become the first all-cargo airline to provide scheduled flights to Cuba. 

FedEx has thus far been the only all-cargo carrier to seek scheduled authority to Cuba.  FedEx will begin once-daily Monday through Friday service between Miami, Florida and Matanzas, Cuba, beginning January 15, 2017. 

On February 16, 2016, Secretary Foxx signed an arrangement with the Cuban government to re-establish scheduled air service between the two countries after more than 50 years.  Under the new arrangement, each country has the opportunity to operate up to 20 daily roundtrip flights between the U.S. and Havana, and up to 10 daily roundtrip flights between the U.S. and each of Cuba’s other nine international airports.  DOT’s award of non-Havana authority to FedEx is in addition to DOT’s June 10th approval of six U.S. airlines to begin scheduled combination services to Cuban cities outside Havana.  All of these non-Havana applications were uncontested.  DOT’s proceeding on the award of Havana authority is ongoing. 

The Department’s decision and other documents in the U.S.-Cuba case are available online at regulations.gov, docket DOT-OST-2016-0021.