Over 3,000 Air Canada customers affected as airline suspends Cuba service

Air Canada says it has suspended service to Cuba effective Monday (Feb. 9) as the island faces an ongoing aviation fuel shortage, providing fresh detail following earlier reports that foreign carriers may be unable to refuel at Cuban airports.

In a statement, Air Canada said it made the call after the international NOTAM system (Notice to Air Missions) flagged the unreliability of jet fuel supply in Cuba. 

The airline projects that as of Feb. 10, aviation fuel will not be commercially available at the island’s airports.

Over the coming days, Air Canada plans to operate empty (southbound) flights to Cuba to pick up and return roughly 3,000 customers currently at destination. 

For remaining flights, the airline said it will tanker extra fuel and make technical stops as needed to refuel on the return journey.

Air Canada said it will continue monitoring the situation to determine when it can restart normal service.

What this means for customers

Air Canada said its immediate priority is returning customers already in Cuba to Canada. 

Most of the approximately 3,000 customers currently in Cuba are travelling on Air Canada Vacations (ACV) packages.

ACV is also introducing a refund policy for customers with scheduled departures to Cuba who experienced flight cancellations. 

The company said those affected will automatically receive a full refund to the original form of payment, and do not need to contact the Air Canada Vacations Contact Centre. 

Customers in Cuba who booked an ACV package can access support from local representatives, the company added.

Air Canada’s Cuba schedule

Air Canada typically operates about 16 weekly flights to four destinations in Cuba from Toronto and Montreal:

From Toronto:

• 4x weekly to Jardines del Rey Airport (Cayo Coco)
• 2x weekly to Frank País Airport (Holguín)
• 4x weekly to Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport (Varadero)
• 1x weekly to Abel Santamaría Airport (Santa Clara)

From Montreal:

• 3x weekly to Jardines del Rey Airport (Cayo Coco)
• 2x weekly to Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport (Varadero)

Air Canada said seasonal flights to Holguín and Santa Clara are cancelled for the rest of the season. 

Flights to Varadero and Cayo Coco, which are normally year-round, are currently suspended, with a tentative restart on May 1, pending review. 

The carrier also said it will look to redeploy aircraft normally used on the Cuba program to other destinations.

As previously reported, WestJet and Sunwing said they plan to continue operating to Cuba, citing contingency plans and noting that flights arrive with sufficient fuel to depart, and both posted flexible rebooking options for departures Feb. 9–25. 

Air Transat said it expects to operate flights as scheduled using measures such as technical stops when needed, and rolled out a flexibility policy that allows changes for departures up to Feb. 28, with separate options for travel March 1 to April 30.

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