| Air Canada said it made the decision following advisories issued by governments regarding the unreliability of the aviation fuel supply at Cuban airports. It is projected that as of February 10 aviation fuel will not be commercially available at the island’s airports.
For remaining flights, Air Canada will tanker in extra fuel and make a technical stops as necessary to refuel on the return journey if necessary.
The airline said it will “continue to monitor the situation to determine an appropriate restart of normal service to Cuba at a future date.”
 A street in Havana, Cuba. Alexander Kunze/Unsplash Photo Air Transat is offering a flexible booking policy for Cuba customers, but has yet to cancel its flights.
Meanwhile, with many Canadians still avoiding trips to the USA, reports say WestJet is substantially trimming its flights between Canada and the States.
OpenJaw says WestJet “appears to be making deeper cuts to its US network than previously reported, suspending a total of 17 routes for Summer 2026 as both Canadian and American travellers scale back trips across the border.”
The reductions represent a 32% drop in available seat capacity compared with schedules published three weeks ago, according to airline route data site Enilria.
Open Jaw said the airline had initially announced eight US route cancellations, all of which have already been removed from schedules, and that new schedule data shows an additional nine routes added to the reductions. Several of these—Edmonton–Atlanta, Edmonton–Chicago, Edmonton–Seattle, and Winnipeg–Nashville—have been wiped from the schedule. Other routes, including Vancouver–Nashville, Vancouver–Orlando, Kelowna–Seattle, Winnipeg–Las Vegas and Toronto–Las Vegas, remain on the schedule but with significant reductions in frequency and seat availability.
In a seemingly related move, WestJet today announced a substantial increase in its domestic service for the coming summer.
WestJet said it’s expanding its domestic network with new non-stop summer service between Calgary and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, North Bay, Ontario and Campbell River, British Columbia. The Calgary-based airline also is adding non-stop seasonal service between Terrace, B.C. and Edmonton, strengthening domestic connectivity within Western Canada.
Open Jaw reports WestJet also is increasing summer capacity at Halifax International Airport by nearly 50%, adding more frequent flights to Edmonton, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Calgary, Toronto, Regina, and Saskatoon. Flights between Calgary and Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador, will double.
As for Air Canada, it’s not clear what will happen with the planes they now fly to Cuba. Presumably those will be shifted to other destinations. The USA doesn’t seem likely, which means they might have to move those planes to other sun destinations, or to cities in Canada.
The lack of aviation fuel obviously impacts not only Canadian airlines, but airlines from around the world that fly to Cuba.
Aviacion Online reports the fuel shortage “is a direct consequence of the oil blockade imposed by the United States , following the presidential order signed on January 29 by Donald Trump , which threatens tariffs on nations providing crude oil to the island. This situation forces operators to restructure a schedule that, according to Cirium data, totals 398 weekly flights .
CNBC reports that Cuban officials last week outlined “extensive measures” designed to protect essential services and ration fuel supplies for key sectors.
The plan reportedly includes restrictions on fuel sales, the closure of some tourist establishments, shortening school days, and a reduction of the working week at state-owned companies to four days, from Monday to Thursday.
Published reports say some tourists on the island have already been forced to move to resorts that have reliable power supplies.
CNBC said Russia, which holds friendly ties with Cuba, said today that Havana’s fuel situation was “truly critical” and that U.S. attempts to further pressure the country were causing numerous problems.
Cuba is highly reliant on tourism, and the loss of nearly 400 flights a week would not doubt have a devasting impact on the nation’s economy, and its people.
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