WestJet, Air Transat join Air Canada in cancelling flights to Cuba

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WestJet Airlines Inc. and Air Transat TRZ-T have suspended flights to Cuba, joining rival Air Canada AC-T as the Caribbean country warns it will run out of jet fuel amid a U.S. oil blockade.

The two airlines said they have stopped carrying passengers south to the resort destination and will send empty planes to bring home customers in the coming days. They both offer tour packages through related companies, including WestJet’s Sunwing Vacations.

“The aircraft deployed for these operations will carry the necessary fuel to operate these flights,” Transat said.

“At this time, there are no safety or security concerns for our guests who remain in Cuba,” WestJet said.

Before cancelling their schedules, Canadian airlines were slated to operate 605 flights with 116,000 seats to Cuban destinations in February, according to aviation data company Cirium. This includes 400 flights by WestJet, 144 by Air Transat and 61 by Air Canada.

Many Canadian airlines have suspended flights to Cuba. Have your travel plans been affected?

Cuba said it will stop refuelling commercial aircraft by Feb. 10 because the U.S. cut off its main fuel supply from Venezuela after capturing its leader President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a raid in early January. Mexico, Cuba’s second-biggest oil source, stopped selling oil to Cuba late last month under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened tariffs on any country that supplied the Communist country.

On Monday, Air Canada halted its Cuban flights and began sending planes to ferry home 3,000 of its customers on the island. Transat initially told The Globe and Mail it would continue its schedule, but reversed course that night and said there would be suspensions. The airline cited the “rapid developments of the past few hours and the announcement by Cuban authorities of an anticipated aviation fuel shortage at destination airports.”

The airlines’ affected passengers will receive refunds.

U.S. carriers Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL-N and Southwest Airlines Co. LUV-N had no changes to their Cuban schedules as of Tuesday morning, and each will make one daily flight to Cuba over the next three days, Cirium data show.

American Airlines will make between nine and 11 daily flights to Cuba between Feb. 10 and Feb. 12, according to Cirium. “We are closely monitoring the situation and continue to operate our full schedule,” American Airlines spokeswoman Laura Masvidal said.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates civil aviation, said in a notice to the industry that fuel will be unavailable at airports in Varadero, Cayo Coco and other Cuban hubs between Feb. 10 and March 3.

It was not clear on Tuesday how many flights had been cancelled in or out of Cuba.

According to the tracking service FlightRadar24, there were about 38 departures scheduled for Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport on Tuesday, with most destinations in Florida, Mexico or South America. About 30 departures are scheduled for Wednesday.

Before the cancellations, Canadian airlines accounted for 42 per cent of the 1,456 flights scheduled to land at Cuban airports in February, Cirium data show. Most of the other carriers were from Latin America, or the U.S., with the latter all going to Miami or Tampa.

Long-standing sanctions have limited the number of U.S. fights to Cuba.

Also flying to Cuba are a handful of overseas carriers, including Turkish Airlines, Air France, Iberia Airlines and Russia’s Aeroflot.

Richard Aboulafia, managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory, an aerospace consulting services firm, said airlines that continue to fly long routes from Europe must make an extra stop nearby to refuel. However, the landing rights to do so could be hard to obtain and would destroy the already thin profit margins of running an aircraft.

This is why the Canadian carriers have stopped, he said, while aircraft flying from Florida or Latin America could easily carry extra fuel for the return flight, given the short distances. This has kept air traffic to Cuba moving.

Air France, scheduled to fly to Havana from Paris 12 times in February, told Agence France-Presse it is refuelling at another Caribbean country it did not identify.

The Canadian federal government recently updated its travel advisory for Cuba to include a warning that “the situation is unpredictable and could deteriorate, disrupting flight availability on short notice.”

Amid speculation the U.S. will take action against Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, the leader has said he is willing to talk with the U.S. and that Cuba poses no threat.