St. Petersburg Times: First flight to Cuba from Tampa International Airport leaves today

This was a landmark day for Arturo Rodriguez.

The 81-year-old from Spring Hill would set foot in Cuba for the first time since 1959, the year Fidel Castro took power. Rodriguez would see the younger brother and sister he'd only talked with by phone all those years.

"I want to go before I die,'' he said.

All sorts of personal stores flew on King Air Flight 1221, the first nonstop commercial flight between Tampa and Cuba since 1962.

A nearly sold-out charter flight from Tampa to Havana took off from Tampa International Airport this afternoon, linking cities with long historical and cultural ties by air for the first time since 1962.

The 75--minute flight carried 89 customers filling most of the 100 seats. Each paid $445 round trip, plus $2 a pound for luggage. The trip culminated a years-long effort by airport and political leaders to win federal approval for nonstop flights to Cuba.

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