Havana, June 1 (RHC)-- Direct mail service between the United States and Cuba was fully re-established Friday after the completion of a pilot program.

The U.S. Postal Service and Correos de Cuba "agreed to permanently implement, through direct flights, the exchange of postal mail between the two countries," the Cuban mail service said in a statement.

Correos de Cuba said that all of the security and technical requirements identified during the pilot program that began in March 2016, have been implemented.

Packages, express service mail and regular correspondence can now travel on direct flights between Cuba and the United States.

Direct mail between the United States and Cuba was cut for nearly half a century due to Washington's blockade policy on the Caribbean state.

Re-establishing the mail service was one of the first steps taken by former U.S. president Barack Obama when the two nations re-established diplomatic ties in 2015.

While on-line communication tools like email have largely made written personal letters obsolete, the mail service is still needed to send packages with medicine, food and other items.