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BWI To Havana Passengers Anticipate Historic Flight

BALTIMORE (WJZ) – The first flight from BWI-Thurgood Marshall airport to Havana is on its way as travel restrictions ease between the United States and Cuba.

Alex Demetrick reports for WJZ.

"They never even had flights like this before the 1959 Cuban Revolution," said Bill Hauf, president of Island Travel & Tours. "This is very historic."

Hauf is trying to get the world out.

He's organized the first charter flight and signed up the first 30 customers for a three-hour, non-stop flight to Cuba.

"To travel to Havana, Cuba is just phenomenal," said one passenger, Andrew Reymer.

Those sights are opening up following a warming of U.S.-Cuban relations.

Travel between the two countries is easier than it's been in decades, although there are still rules controlling where in Cuba you can travel.

Hauf says you have to agree to have a full-time itinerary and follow the travel restrictions provided if you're planning on going.

"Once you do that, we can sell you a ticket, and we can sell you a visa," he said.

This may be BWI-Marshall's first Havana flight, but some have made the trip before from Miami.

One passenger from Miami, Yvonne Hasty, says she's visited family before in Havana and plans to do so again on this trip.

Baltimore veterinarian Kim Hammond is traveling with an organization working to help modernize Cuba.

"It's a very difficult transition right now," he said. "It's 2015. It's not 1950 or 1960. The world is changing and we want to be a part of that change. And we want Baltimore to be a part of that change."

And Havana's living past is also a major draw.

"There's a rum tour, Hemingway's house, staying at the Hotel Nacional," said passenger Reymer, in reference to the famous hotel built in the 1930s and other drawing points that Havana has.

And while there aren't a lot of passengers on this first trip, backers expect seats to fill as word spreads of the Maryland link to Cuba.

Round trip tickets are expected to cost around $649 for the first month.

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