Air Canada Suspends Flight to Cuba

Air Canada says it is pausing all flights to Cuba starting Monday after airports there warned they can't guarantee aviation fuel supplies. The airline will send in empty planes over the next few days to bring home roughly 3,000 customers already on the island, the CBC reports. The move follows an "international" NOTAM (notice to air missions) posted by Havana's José Martí International Airport, stating that standard Jet A1 fuel will not be available starting Tuesday, a restriction currently listed through March 11.

Canada's federal government has already toughened its travel advisory for Cuba, warning that fuel shortages could disrupt flights, power, and resort operations, and may compound existing food shortages. Cuba, long dependent on Venezuela for fuel, hasn't received crude or refined products from its main ally since mid-December after new US actions targeting Venezuelan exports, reports Reuters. The AP reports that while the fuel shortage may not disrupt short regional flights like the 11 daily American Airlines flights from Miami, halting long-haul flights from Canada and Europe will deal a heavy blow to tourism, a major part of Cuba's battered economy.

Other Canadian carriers, however, are trying to keep flying while adjusting their policies. WestJet and its subsidiary Sunwing are offering flexible rebooking and say their planes arrive with enough fuel to depart without refueling in Cuba. Air Transat says it was also told kerosene refueling is temporarily suspended but plans to operate flights as scheduled. Jorge Pinon, an expert on Cuban energy issues at the University of Texas, tells the New York Times that airlines may have to start scheduling refueling stops in the Dominican Republic.

Ontario resident Kim Darby tells the CBC that while he's disappointed that the Air Canada canceled his seventh trip to Cuba, where he enjoys bonefish fishing on the flats, he doesn't think the country's limited resources should go to resorts. "If there are fuel shortages and food, it should go to the people," the 71-year-old says. "Tourists can go elsewhere."