Canada's major airlines wind down flights to Cuba as Havana airport warns it will run out of jet fuel
CBC
Canada's major airlines have all suspended service to Cuba, with Air Transat announcing Monday evening it was joining Air Canada and WestJet in cancelling all flights, as the Caribbean island's major airport warns it will run out of jet fuel.
All three airlines said they had plans to bring travellers home to Canada.
Over the following days, Air Canada will fly empty planes to pick up approximately 3,000 customers already in Cuba and return them home, the airline said Monday in a statement.
"Air Canada took the decision following advisories issued by governments (NOTAMs) regarding the unreliability of the aviation fuel supply at Cuban airports," the statement reads.
"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."
Air Canada announced that seasonal flights to Holguín and Santa Clara are cancelled for the rest of the season, and that flights to Varadero and Cayo Coco are schedule to operate year-round but are currently suspended "with a tentative restart, pending review, on May 1."
In an email to CBC News, WestJet said it would wind down winter operations to Cuba as of Feb. 9, with plans to resume service to the island April 26. In a later statement, it confirmed the decision would also include Sunwing Vacations, WestJet Vacations and Vacances WestJet Quebec.
WestJet said it was also sending empty aircraft to Cuba starting Monday to ensure the safe return of guests currently vacationing in Cuba.
"All aircraft dispatched to Cuba will carry sufficient fuel to safely depart without reliance on local fuel availability," it said.
In an official notice called a NOTAM posted to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) website Sunday, Havana's José Martí International Airport warns "Jet A1 fuel not available" as of Tuesday, with the warning running until March 11.
A NOTAM, or "notice to airmen," is an official notice containing information essential to personnel concerned with flight operations, according to the FAA. The NOTAM for the Havana airport is classified as "international," meaning it is meant to be viewed by multiple countries.
This comes days after Canada's federal government issued a travel advisory for Cuba, warning that an ongoing shortage of fuel could affect resorts and flights.
Cuba has historically relied on Venezuela to provide much of its jet fuel, as Reuters points out, but the Caribbean island country has not received any crude or refined products from its top ally since mid-December, when the U.S. moved to block the South American country's exports.
The NOTAM not only suggests that the U.S. is attempting to cut off energy and fuel from reaching Cuba, but that the U.S. is also trying to isolate Cuba from the rest of the world, Tamanisha John, an assistant politics professor at York University who studies Caribbean development, told CBC News.
An RCMP-led corruption investigation is underway into at least one current Calgary city councillor as well as a business, CBC News has learned.
Much of Newfoundland is digging out of a blustery and messy day as another storm slams into the island.
Timiskaming—Cochrane MPP John Vanthof recalls the meeting in Thunder Bay earlier this month. He was part of the nine-day road trip along Highways 11 and 17 with other NDP MPPs.
A bill before the Nova Scotia Legislature is proposing raising the age limit for support for young people who have been in the foster care or group home system to 26.
The Fredericton Police Force has reallocated funds so new staff can be hired this year to better manage evidence after a police error upended murder cases against five people.
One of two pilots killed in a plane crash at New York's LaGuardia Airport Sunday earned his wings at an Ontario college, CBC News has learned.
Air Canada passengers who were aboard Flight 8646 when the CRJ-900 aircraft struck a fire truck upon landing at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Sunday evening say the collision was sudden and forceful, and they may owe their lives to the pilots who died in the incident.
Cardiac services are set to expand at a Winnipeg hospital once regarded as one of the best in Canada for heart care.
A 26-second TikTok video has ignited a larger conversation about vulnerable populations, theft and content creation.
Some family doctors and emergency room physicians working in Edmonton hospitals warn that an April 1 end to stipend pay arrangements could put patient care at risk and increase suffering.
An Auditor General of Canada report has found that B.C. saw drastically fewer international students than was forecast ever since wide-ranging federal immigration cuts began in 2024.
Six years after e-learning became a mandatory requirement to get an Ontario high school diploma, students don't appear to be taking online school to diversify their course selection as the province had intended, according to a CBC News analysis of provincial enrolment data.
Sarnia City Council will hold a special meeting Tuesday morning to respond to social media comments made by Coun. Bill Dennis, who criticized city spending on a new mural by Indigenous artist Kennady Osborne as “virtue signalling by woke politicians” — then made a series of comments in response to a reply from Aamjiwnaang Chief Janelle Nahmabin that some have characterized as unprofessional and aggressive.