Another way to Havana

Cuban food and music wafted through Concourse B at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers this past week.

But it wasn't a new eatery.

Airport executives were there to celebrate another milestone: nonstop jet service from Fort Myers to Havana, Cuba. Choice Air inaugurated the service Nov. 2 using a Swift Air Boeing 737 with a nearly full flight that surprisingly also included walk-up passengers.

The check-in counter was so busy that Choice Air CEO Danny Looney pitched in, keeping guests waiting to dig into a special cake made by famous area pastry chef Norman Love.

Work on the new route was years in the making. Executives with the Fort Myers airport had the vision to secure approval from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in June 2011. “We were one of the first airports to do it,” says Robert Ball, executive director of the Lee County Port Authority.

For four years, airport officials worked with local travel agents and Hispanic chambers of commerce to generate interest. “The real challenging part is how do you convince the community and create potential demand,” Ball says.

Another challenge was securing landing rights in Cuba from the communist government. Fortunately, Choice Air already flies there and was able to obtain rights for the Fort Myers flight. Initially, the one-hour-15-minute flights will run twice a week.

The potential market is big. Airport officials say there is a growing community of more than 40,000 people in Lee and Collier counties with Cuban heritage. And retirees also have time and money to visit the once-forbidden destination. “There's a mystique among all Americans,” says Ball, who adds that Hodges University in Naples performed an analysis to show the viability of air service to Cuba from Fort Myers.

Southwest Florida's links to Cuba stretch much further back, of course. For example, sailing ships used to load cattle bound for Cuba at the docks at Punta Rassa, where the foot of the Sanibel bridge is now located.