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Cuba and the US have long had "frosty" relations. With some limited easing of restrictions, there are now direct flights between Miami, FL (controlled by ZMA) and Havana, Cuba.

Does Cuba have an ARTCC? Do they coordinate with ZMA for passing off flights?
Has this been an ongoing system even before the recent easing of sanctions, or is it relatively new?

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    $\begingroup$ It's probably an ongoing system, since ZMA will have been handing off any international through traffic from Europe. $\endgroup$
    – fooot
    Sep 8, 2015 at 20:03
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    $\begingroup$ Direct flights from Miami to Havana aren't new. They have long been available for travelers authorized by the US government (family visits, organized tours for "educational" or "religious" reasons, etc...) $\endgroup$
    – Zach Lipton
    Sep 8, 2015 at 21:18
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    $\begingroup$ There are also many flights that overfly Cuba from the USA to other destinations in the South every day. These are also not new and I have personally been doing them for years. It just takes a "Cuban Overflight Permit" and then you are handed off to Cuba from Miami just like any other hand off. How it is handled behind the scenes is a good question though. So Yes, they have an ARTCC. Yes they coordinate with ZMA for passing off flights. Yes it is an existing system from before the easing of the sanctions and isn't new. "How" does the handoff work? I have no idea. $\endgroup$
    – Lnafziger
    Sep 8, 2015 at 22:12

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After some searching, I found a paper from Wikileaks from November 19th, 2009, that reads in part:

  1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Miami and Havana air traffic controllers signed a letter of agreement (LOA) on November 12 updating procedures for the coordination of flights between Cuban and U.S. controlled airspace. Both sides stressed the excellent working relationship between the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) and the Havana Area Control Center (ACC). The U.S. delegation agreed to review information to be provided by the Cuban delegation regarding flights operating under the rules of "due regard" that could pose a safety risk. Both sides also agreed to discuss switching from verbal to electronic flight data sharing, on the margins of a regional aviation meeting in Miami in May 2010. END SUMMARY

Apparently handoff procedures have been a regular occurrence for a long time, and are cooperated on extensively.

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As an early active air traffic controller in cuba I can tell that MIA ARTCC people were the best to work with,and jamaica the other end, meaning the worst ones,all guys in MIA had a great relationship with us ,of course havana had some bad apples regarding supervisor coordinations but other than everything was fine,they were our model to imitate actualy met couple of controllers that went to Cuba and had a great time with them.

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