WASHINGTON — The thaw in relations between the U.S. and Cuba will bear for area travelers this fall. That’s when a tour company is set to begin nonstop flights from Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport to Havana.

Island Travel and Tours will begin twice-weekly service for their customers between BWI and Havana on Sept. 30, with flights at 9:20 a.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

“These new flights will provide more options for travel and will provide the opportunity for more visits by American museums, art galleries, colleges, universities, research organizations and government officials, who will now be able to travel to Cuba for as few as three days or as long as several weeks,” company president Bill Hauf said in a statement.

The flights, on Boeing 737s, will take about 3 1/4 hours.