Conviasa flights to Cuba between Havana (HAV), Cuba and Managua (MGA), Nicaragua will resume on December 15th 2021 with a twice weekly return service (on Wednesdays and Saturdays), originating in Havana and using the 104 passenger Embraer 190 airplane.
Between the 15th of December and January 1st 2022, most seats will be taken by passengers with rescheduled flights after having had their flights cancelled due to the sudden closure of service in January 2021 which was Covid-19 related.
Passengers with a ticket credit can enter a link on the Conviasa web site and reschedule with a new ticket (on the same route) without additional payments. In the event that some of those tickets are not claimed, they will be sold to a waiting list of people looking for regular scheduled flights.
Regular commercial flights to Cuba starting on January 1st 2022 are available for reservation now, on line, in the usual way at www.conviasa.aero
Havana’s “José Martí International Airport” (HAV) is about 20 Kilometers (12 miles) south of the center of Havana. The Cuban; José Martí (January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895), was a poet and essayist who died fighting for Cuba’s independence from Spain.
In common with other international passengers, Cuban visitors will not need to be vaccinated to enter Nicaragua but will need to show a negative PCR-RT test taken no more than 72 hours prior to arrival.
As reported in a previous article in Nica-Biz; on Monday 22nd November 2021 Cubans became Category A – Visa Exempt for entering Nicaragua and now qualify for the 90 day passport stamp upon entry the same as for instance; USA, Canadian and European Community citizens.
The Government of Nicaragua cited “the number of requests from Cuban citizens with relatives in Nicaragua and in order to promote trade, tourism and humanitarian family relationships” as the reason for dropping the visa requirement.
I should be noted that before the 22nd of November 2021, Cubans required a Category B Visa where they were subjected to a short interview with immigration upon arrival and then paid a US $50 fee for the “Border Visa” granted upon entry by air, land or sea. (The strictest visa category is “C” where the visa has to be obtained prior to arrival).