José Martí International Airport — Havana, Cuba

Named after José Martí, the poet, journalist, and independence fighter whose writings still shape Cuban national identity a century after his death in battle, HAV is the island's principal point of entry for both visiting foreigners and the Cuban diaspora returning from Miami, Madrid, and beyond. Multiple terminal buildings scattered across the airport grounds have historically served different purposes, with international charter and scheduled flights concentrated at a facility financed and built with assistance from several foreign governments during the 1990s. Havana's mix of crumbling colonial architecture, vintage American cars, and Malecón seafront draws steady tourist interest despite decades of economic isolation shaped by the long-standing US embargo. Air links to Cuba have expanded and contracted repeatedly depending on shifting diplomatic relations between Havana and Washington, making the airport something of a barometer for the broader political relationship between the two countries.