The US oil blockade against socialist Cuba is affecting air traffic.
02/10/2026, 03:0502/10/2026, 03:05
Due to a fuel shortage, the Canadian airline Air Canada is temporarily suspending its flights to Cuba, the company announced. In the coming days, only empty Air Canada planes will fly to the Caribbean island to take around 3,000 customers out of the country according to the regular flight schedule.
Air Canada suspends flights to Cuba.Image: keystone
Canadians make up the majority of tourists visiting the island. “Air Canada will continue to monitor the situation in order to decide on an appropriate resumption of normal flight operations to Cuba at a later date,” the airline said.
The Cuban government had previously informed international airlines that as a result of the US oil embargo, refueling on the island would no longer be possible from Tuesday, as media reported, citing pilots and airlines. The US aviation regulator FAA also warned of a shortage of kerosene at the airport in the Cuban capital Havana.
No more oil from Venezuela
Other airlines have taken precautionary measures – without completely stopping flights. Air Europa, for example, is planning to stop over in the neighboring Dominican Republic to refuel, as the Spanish newspaper “El País” reported. Iberia offers refunds and exchanges for airline tickets – as does Air Canada.
Washington has been putting considerable pressure on Cuba’s communist government for weeks. The country has not received oil from Venezuela since December, as US President Donald Trump ordered a complete blockade of sanctioned oil tankers carrying supplies from the sister South American country. Trump then threatened to impose tariffs on Cuba’s oil suppliers. Mexico, most recently Cuba’s largest oil supplier, stopped its deliveries. The oil embargo is a hard blow to Cuba’s severely ailing economy. (sda/dpa)