THE U.S. and Cuba have reached an understanding on restoring commercial flights, officials from Washington and Havana announced Wednesday.

    The diplomatic announcement could allow U.S. airliners to begin flying to Cuba within months, as relations between the Cold War foes continues to thaw.

    According to The Associated Press, officials said they had reached an understanding but had not made a formal agreement, which they hoped they could reach within hours or days. American and Cuban travelers can travel between the two countries, but they must do it on charter flights that are difficult to book and have strict baggage limits and security issues.

    The first direct flight between Baltimore and Havana landed Sept. 30, just a day after the two countries held two days of talks on the restoration of scheduled airline service. The two sides planned at that time to meet again before the end of the year, most likely in Washington, a U.S. official said.

    U.S. officials and aviation executives speculate Cuba could permit over a dozen flights from the U.S. a day. However, it is unclear if commercial flights would replace the charter flights used currently. U.S. officials said that travel between the U.S. and Cuba has increased 50 percent since the two nations began working towards normalizing relations in December 2014.

    Jeffrey DeLaurentis, the head of the U.S. Embassy in Havana, said Wednesday that the travel boost was a target of President Barack Obama. (SD-Agencies)