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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Flying To Cuba Gets More Difficult |
| 2026-02-20 |
| [Cigar Aficionado] Flying to Cuba has become more limited, and the problem could get even worse. This week, three Canadian airlines suspended their flights to the Caribbean country after Cuban officials told international carriers they could no longer refuel on the island, a move that comes as Cuba faces a severe oil shortage. Fuel shipments to the island have been cut off by the United States in a series of sanctions: first, via the U.S. military involvement in Venezuela, which was Cuba’s largest supplier of oil, then again by the Trump administration threatening punishment to any country that sends Cuba oil. The island nation is not capable of supplying all of its oil, and relies heavily on foreign imports. Air Canada, WestJet and Air Transat all announced that they were suspending travel to Cuba this week, due to the oil situation. All have stopped flying passengers into Cuba, and are now flying out people who need to come back to Canada. "WestJet is responding to the developing situation in Cuba and the latest travel advisory by Global Affairs Canada," WestJet wrote on its website on February 9. "Aligning with our focus to put guests and crew first and protect the integrity of our operation, WestJet Group has made the decision to begin an orderly wind down of our winter operations to Cuba, this is inclusive of WestJet, Sunwing Vacations, WestJet Vacations and Vacances WestJet Quebec." On Monday, WestJet began flying empty aircraft to Cuba "to support the organized 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." Related: Cuba: 2026-02-19 SOUTHCOM Commander Makes Surprise Visit to Venezuela Cuba: 2026-02-15 Cuba's annual cigar fair postponed amid US oil blockade Cuba: 2026-02-15 Rubio in Munich: ‘This is a critically worded speech that is very important to listen to with great deliberation. Within his remarks Rubio is telling Europe that we want to remain allied in our interests, but |
| Posted by:Besoeker |