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Commercial airline flights are due to resume between the United States and Cuba — a step in the ongoing thaw in relations between the two countries.

State Department officials announced the aviation deal Thursday, a year after President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro began the process of restoring diplomatic ties.

Tourism to Cuba is booming, and reconciliation is visible in other ways, as NPR's Carrie Kahn reports for our Newscast unit:

Some details still need to be worked out, and U.S. planes won't be landing in Cuba immediately.

The deal allows for up to 20 flights to Havana per day, and up to 10 daily flights to other Cuban cities. State Department spokeswoman Kerry Humphrey says that, besides Havana, there are nine international airports in Cuba — so the deal allows for 110 possible flights per day. (The Associated Press had initially reported up to 30 flights to Cuba per day would be permitted.)

Charter service — currently the only air transportation options between the two countries — will be allowed to continue at an unlimited frequency, Humphrey says.

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Restrictions on visiting Cuba will remain, but authorized travelers can soon fly directly from American airports to the island nation. Currently, charter flights are the only air travel option.

Commercial flights to resume from U.S. to Cuba

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