The first commercial flight from the US to Cuba in over 50 years just landed

he first scheduled commercial passenger flight from the United States to Cuba in more than half a century has landed.

Allison Wallace - Yahoo7 Be

The JetBlue flight took off from Fort Lauderdale at 9.45am local time following an inauguration ceremony. The plane was given a water salute as it taxied onto the runway, a ceremony used for notable flight events.

Lasting just 45 minutes, the plane landed safely on Cuban soil in Santa Clara.

he first two passengers off the plane carried US and Cuban flags as they descended the stairs onto the tarmac, where they symbolically exchanged the banners in a sign of friendship.

Among the passengers aboard JetBlue flight 387 from Fort Lauderdale to Santa Clara were many Cuban exiles returning to their homeland for the first time in years, and the US transport secretary, Anthony Foxx, headed for talks with his counterparts in Havana.

Santa Clara airport, where the JetBlue flight landed, has served as a gateway to nearby beaches for European and Canadian tourists who have been coming to Cuba for years.

The flight was the first of 110 expected daily trips connecting US cities to airports in the Communist-run island, many of them in or near tourism hotspots.