Air Canada is suspending its service to Cuba due to an ongoing shortage of aviation fuel on the island.
The move takes effect today and it said that “over the following days, the airline will operate empty flights southbound to pick up approximately 3,000 customers already at destination and return them home.”
In announcing the suspension of its Cuba flights, Air Canada said that it “took the decision following advisories issued by governments (NOTAMs) regarding the unreliability of the aviation fuel supply at Cuban airports.”
And the carrier’s statement continued: “It is projected that as of February 10 aviation fuel will not be commercially available at the island’s airports. For remaining flights, Air Canada will tanker in extra fuel and make technical stops as necessary to refuel on the return journey if necessary.”
The airline said that it will continue to monitor the situation to determine an appropriate restart of normal service to Cuba at a future date.
For Customers
Air Canada’s immediate priority is to return customers already in Cuba to Canada. It will operate empty ferry flights to the island over the coming days to maintain its regular schedule from Cuba to Canada over the near-term to pick up these customers. Air Canada currently has approximately 3,000 customers in Cuba, most of whom are travelling on Air Canada Vacations Packages.
Throughout the process, Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations monitored the situation closely, first introducing a flexible rebooking policy for customers travelling to Cuba.
Air Canada Vacations is now introducing a refund policy, allowing customers who had scheduled departures to Cuba and experienced flight cancellations to automatically receive a full refund in their original form of payment. There is no need for these customers to contact the Air Canada Vacations’ Contact Centre.
Customers currently in Cuba who booked an Air Canada Vacations package can receive direct support from Air Canada Vacations’ local representatives, who are available to address any questions or concerns.
Air Canada Cuba Schedule
Air Canada operates on average 16 weekly flights to four destinations in Cuba from Toronto and Montreal. These include:
From Toronto:
- 4 times weekly to Jardines del Rey Airport in Cayo Coco,
- 2 times weekly to Frank País Airport in Holguín,
- 4 times weekly to Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport in Varadero,
- Once weekly to Abel Santamaría Airport in Santa Clara.
From Montreal:
- 3 times weekly to Jardines del Rey Airport in Cayo Coco,
- 2 times weekly to Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport in Varadero.
At present, seasonal flights to Holguín and Santa Clara are cancelled for the rest of the season.
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.
All Flights are normally operated on various narrow body aircraft between Mainline and Rouge.
Air Canada will look to redeploy these aircraft to other destinations.
