At least one major airline is suspending service to Cuba after the government there announced it can no longer guarantee fuel for arriving aircraft — a sign of how deep the island’s crisis has become.
Air Canada confirmed it will halt flights to Cuba, citing an ongoing shortage of aviation fuel. Cuban authorities say they simply do not have enough jet fuel to refuel incoming planes, making regular commercial flights increasingly difficult.
The suspension is a major blow to Cuba’s tourism sector, which relies heavily on Canadian travelers. Other airlines are also adjusting operations. Southwest Airlines, which flies daily to Havana, now requires planes headed to the island to carry enough fuel to continue on to their next destination without refueling in Cuba.
For travelers, the uncertainty is already being felt.
“I was afraid my flight was even going to happen,” said Jesus Salami, who recently returned to Miami from Cuba. “They were saying there was no fuel.”
Salami says the fuel shortages extend far beyond the airports. Getting around the island has become nearly impossible.
“Right now, it’s even worse because there is no gasoline, and they don’t sell it,” he said, adding that he struggled just to find transportation to the airport.
Cuba is facing one of the worst economic crises in its history. Analysts point to a combination of factors — an inefficient centralized economy, long-standing internal mismanagement, and renewed U.S. sanctions that threaten tariffs on countries supplying crude oil to the island.
Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has criticized the U.S. sanctions, calling them unjust. She has pledged to resume oil shipments to Cuba and announced that Mexico is also sending two ships carrying more than 800 tons of food and personal hygiene supplies.
On Monday, Cuban dissident Leticia Ramos said she was barred from re-entering her own country because of her high-profile opposition to the government.
“It’s unjust that they won’t let me enter my own country,” Ramos said.
Ramos believes change is coming to Cuba and says the government fears a popular uprising. She says preventing her return may be part of a broader strategy to silence the opposition.
On state television in Cuba, officials also announced that all sporting events will be postponed due to the shortages. And during a roundtable news program airing Monday, Cubans are expected to learn what additional measures the government plans to implement as it tries to manage a crisis that is increasingly disrupting daily life — and now, international travel.
