WASHINGTON — Six U.S. airlines were approved to begin the first scheduled flights to Cuba for the first time in more than 50 years, the Transportation Department announced Friday.

The airlines were approved to fly to nine Cuban cities other than Havana. But the department is still considering which airlines will get a combined 20 daily flights to the capital out of 60 proposals, which will be announced later this summer.

The carriers approved Friday are American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Silver Airways, Southwest Airlines and Sun Country Airlines.

Flights will depart from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, Philadelphia and Minneapolis/St. Paul. While charter flights have been allowed for years, the announcement resumes scheduled airline flights.