Cuban airspace and affairs after the revolution

[blueaircraft]

I hope everyone's pre-Advent and/or winter season is going well! I want to ask some questions for the older (majority) folks at the forum that involves Cuba and the airlines associated with it post revolution.

First question regards United States carriers in Cuba in the months and years after the revolution. I think Castro cemented the socialist aspect of his government in 1960, and the months after the revolution, but there are some sources on the internet that state Cuba's casinos being temporarily reopened (due to a loss of jobs) after being closed almost immediately after the revolution. Did US carriers still promote American travel to Cuba despite the "writings on the wall?" Or did they immediately promote other destinations (such as Montego Bay, San Juan, etc.). I'm not asking if they stopped timetables (they didn't until relations became really sour) but rather if they subtly disregarded Cuba (i.e. no or less posters showing Cuba's draws like food, drink, beaches etc.) as a favourable tourist spot.

The second question regards Cuban airspace in the years after the revolution. Did Castro allow US airlines to fly over Cuba after relations became totally null? I understand that Cuba today allows US airlines to fly over their airspace a good bit of the time, but did that happen in the early years after 1959?

Regards
Andrew

[Tom/CalClassic]

I’ve never seen Cuba advertised after 1959 or so. Cubana continued to advertise it while they still flew to New York, but not after that. No clue about the airspace.

[Defender]

Re airspace, Timetableimages shows Pan American's DC-6B took 2h15m southbound Miami-Montego Bay in 1957 and 1958. In 1960 and 1961 the same aircraft took 2h5m! So looks like airspace stayed open.

Bill

PS - And still operating once a day Miami-Havana in 1961 so limited. 

[connieguy]

The Cuban Missile Crisis of Oct 1962 - which I am sure most of us remember - would likely be the decisive event, though Castro's relations with the US, with whom he initially attempted to make friends, had broken down before that; if I remember rightly partly because he had nationalised some US companies. That was why he turned to the USSR.

[Bernard]

Nov 27, 2023 6:02:15 GMT -5 Defender said:

Re airspace, Timetableimages shows Pan American's DC-6B took 2h15m southbound Miami-Montego Bay in 1957 and 1958. In 1960 and 1961 the same aircraft took 2h5m! So looks like airspace stayed open.

Bill

PS - And still operating once a day Miami-Havana in 1961 so limited. 

Keep eventually in mind that timetables are setup and printed long before their effective validities and could partially become obsolete due to later and unexpected facts.

Bernard

[Tom/CalClassic]

In 1963 pan am flew a jet on the route, 1h15m. In 1964 it was 1h20m

[Defender]

All noted and so routing Ken's Nassau to Jamaica or from the USA we can probably cross Cuba up until 1961 but not 1962 onwards.

Bill

[aharon]

The answer is in my post published in year 2019 as seen on this hyperlink:

calclassic.proboards.com/thread/9456/important-procedures-naval-station-guantanamo

Regards,

Aharon

[blueaircraft]

Thanks everyone. It's a bit what I expected to hear.

Regards
Andrew