MIAMI _ Americans stranded in Cuba after the government shut down air travel due to the coronavirus pandemic will be able to return to Miami on Friday, the U.S. Embassy in Havana said.
The embassy helped coordinate two Delta Airlines charter flights departing Friday morning and already notified those selected to travel.
Passengers will pay around $340 for the airline tickets. They were told to expect a full flight and wear a mask since the airline would not be able to enforce social distancing.
A State Department spokesperson said the number of seats was limited. If demand exceeds availability, officials in charge of the repatriation effort will prioritize "U.S. citizens deemed at higher risk of severe illness, followed by U.S. citizen minors and their U.S. citizen parents, or one foreign national parent, followed by all other U.S. citizens."
Permanent U.S. residents do not qualify for a higher priority but could also fly if there are spare seats, the official said.
The embassy warned that U.S. citizens who were not able to secure a ticket for Friday should prepare to remain in Cuba until airports reopen.
"We continue to explore options for the repatriation of U.S. citizens who are not traveling on these flights but who wish to return home. However, there are no additional charter flights scheduled at this time," the embassy said on Twitter.
On March 24, the Cuban government banned the entry of tourists and travelers and ordered Cuban nationals not to travel abroad. On April 2, the authorities effectively suspended air travel, leaving hundreds of Americans, mostly of Cuban origin, stranded on the island.
Many Cuban Americans who are U.S. citizens were not allowed to leave the island even before April 1 because they had acquired permanent residence in Cuba through a process known as repatriation. Most do not live on the island but use that legal status to inherit property or benefit from the public health system. But that legal status makes them subject to the decisions of Cuban authorities.
Some are hoping to get on the Friday flights and return to the U.S.
Since Cuba does not recognize the U.S. nationality of Cuban-born U.S. citizens, the island's government might treat them exclusively as Cuban citizens and may subject them to travel restrictions, the State Department spokesperson told the Herald.
The officials said the U.S. "has advocated for the departure of these Cuban-American dual nationals and will continue to do so."
As of April 19, the State Department's Repatriation Task Force has facilitated the return of more than 64,000 Americans from 110 countries.
