Scheduled flight service between the United States and Cuba will begin in the fall of 2016, a senior US State Department official told reporters on Wednesday.

"The Department of Transportation has awarded non-Havana flight routes and expects to make a final decision on Havana routes later this summer. The scheduled flights to begin as early as the fall," the official said.

In February, the US Department of Transportation announced that Washington and Havana reached an agreement to reestablish scheduled air service between the two countries.

Direct flights between Cuba and the United States had been non-existent for more than 50 years as a result of the hostilities during the Cold War.

The new US policy of reengagement with Havana is a part of President Barack Obama’s plan to normalize relations with Cuba that he announced in late 2014. However, a congressionally-mandated embargo on Cuba is still in effect.