Air Transat planes on the tarmac at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport in Montreal. The airline, along with Air Canada, extended flight suspensions to Cuba on Wednesday.Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
WestJet and Air Transat AC-T are extending their suspension of flights to Cuba, which was struggling with an island-wide blackout this week amid a ballooning energy crisis.
In an e-mail, WestJet says most Cuba trips are cancelled through October, though two of its tour package divisions aim to start up again in June.
Air Transat says in a notice to travellers it plans to resume flights on June 20, with refunds available to affected passengers at both carriers.
Citing an ongoing fuel shortage, the airlines had announced last month they were cancelling all Cuba-bound voyages through at least late April – a particularly big setback for Transat, since Cuba accounts for eight per cent of its winter flight volume, according to aviation data firm Cirium.
Both airlines, which carry more than a half-million travellers between Canada and Cuba each year, also say they will reduce flight capacity on routes to the island this summer. Air Canada has suspended flights to Cuba until November.
The Cuban government has blamed its energy woes on a United States oil blockade after U.S. President Donald Trump in January threatened tariffs against any country that ships fuel to the island.