Canada Airlines Suspend Cuba Routes Over Fuel Supply Crisis

(HAVANA, Cuba) – Several Canadian airlines have suspended services to Cuba after aviation fuel supplies on the island became critically short, leaving nearly 3,000 passengers to be collected on empty return flights. Air Canada, WestJet and Air Transat all halted scheduled operations, citing the fuel shortage that is expected to make jet fuel commercially unavailable at Cuban airports within a day.

Air Canada said it will operate aircraft without passengers to Cuba solely to pick up customers already at their destinations and bring them home. The empty flights are set to retrieve close to 3,000 travellers over the coming days.

The fuel shortage follows a tightening of US restrictions on oil shipments to Cuba, including measures that have blocked supplies from Venezuela. The island depends heavily on imported fuel for its airport operations.

The suspensions affect a key travel corridor between Canada and Cuba, which has long been a popular leisure destination for Canadian holidaymakers.