(VOVworld) -  This week the US government granted permission for 6 airlines to resume scheduled commercial air service from the US to Cuba for the first time in decades.

Air Force One carrying President Barack Obama and his family flies over a Havana neighborhood as it approaches the runway to land at Havana's international airport, March 20. (Photo: Reuters)

The 6 airlines — American, Frontier, JetBlue, Silver Airways, Southwest, and Sun Country — were approved by the Department of Transportation for a total of 155 roundtrip flights per week. They will operate flights from 5 US cities – Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis - to 9 cities in Cuba excluding Havana.

Approval is still required by the Cuban government, but the carriers said they hope to begin their flights this fall.