Air Canada has taken the extraordinary step of suspending all flights to Cuba and dispatching empty aircraft to the island to bring home thousands of stranded passengers, as a crippling aviation fuel shortage shuts down refuelling at Cuban airports. The abrupt move, announced on February 9, 2026, instantly severs one of Cuba’s most important air links to its largest tourism market and throws winter travel plans into disarray for Canadian holidaymakers bound for Caribbean beaches.
A Sudden Halt to a Key Winter Lifeline
Effective immediately, Air Canada has halted its entire Cuba program, citing official aviation notices that jet fuel will no longer be commercially available at Cuban airports from February 10 onward. Notices to Air Missions issued over the weekend warned airlines that Jet A1 fuel could not be guaranteed across the island’s main gateways, including Havana, Varadero, Cayo Coco, Holguín, Santa Clara and other resort hubs. For a carrier built around long-haul reliability and tight schedules, operating regularly into airports where refuelling is uncertain was deemed unsustainable.
Before the suspension, Air Canada operated on average 16 weekly flights from Toronto and Montreal to four Cuban destinations, serving a mix of sun seekers, packaged tour guests and independent travelers. Seasonal winter routes to Holguín and Santa Clara have now been cancelled for the rest of the season. Year round services to Varadero and Cayo Coco have been suspended as well, with a tentative restart date of May 1 under review and far from guaranteed. Aircraft that typically shuttled Canadians to Cuba’s all inclusive resorts are being redeployed to other leisure and transborder routes.
The announcement represents one of the most sweeping route suspensions in the airline’s recent history involving a single country, and underscores how exposed tourism dependent destinations can be when basic infrastructure like fuel supply falters. While Cuba has wrestled with chronic shortages for several years, the complete cutoff of aviation fuel marks a new and acute phase of the crisis.
Empty Southbound Flights, Full Northbound Repatriations
In a highly unusual operation, Air Canada will keep flying to Cuba for the next several days, but without passengers on the way in. The airline is operating empty southbound “ferry” or “repositioning” flights that will land, board waiting passengers and then depart immediately back to Canada, using fuel tankered in and top ups obtained on technical stops outside Cuba if required. The goal is to bring home approximately 3,000 customers currently vacationing in Cuban resorts, many of them traveling on Air Canada Vacations packages.
From a logistical standpoint, the plan is designed to mirror the normal schedule as closely as possible. Instead of cancelling outbound legs and leaving stranded passengers uncertain about when they will fly, Air Canada is maintaining much of its return timetable while removing the inbound commercial component. That allows resort transfers, hotel checkout times and onward travel plans in Canada to be managed with fewer last minute changes, even as the fuel crisis deepens.
Flying empty in one direction represents a significant financial hit, as no revenue is collected on half of each rotation. Yet for Air Canada, the reputational damage of leaving thousands of customers in limbo in a country experiencing broader shortages of food, medicine and transport is a far riskier prospect. The repatriation flights also align with the expectations of Canadian regulators and the traveling public that carriers will take extraordinary measures to safeguard passengers in fast evolving crisis situations abroad.
Fuel Crisis Rooted in Politics and Sanctions
Cuba’s aviation fuel shortage does not exist in isolation. It is the latest manifestation of a broader energy crunch that has intensified under tightened United States sanctions and an informal oil blockade that has chilled suppliers wary of Washington’s tariff threats. In recent weeks, US policy moves signaled fresh penalties on countries shipping crude to Cuba, contributing to a sharp drop in deliveries. Without steady imports of refined products or oil that can be processed locally, the island’s limited reserves have dwindled.
Fuel shortages have already forced rolling blackouts, long queues at service stations and severe disruption to ground transport. Public buses have been reduced, private taxis struggle to source gasoline and logistics chains for basic goods are under strain. Aviation, a heavy consumer of refined fuel, is now fully caught up in the crisis. A formal aviation notice from Havana’s main airport warning that jet fuel would not be available from early February 10 effectively made routine international operations impossible for any airline that relies on local refuelling.
The shockwaves extend far beyond Canada. Airlines from Europe, Latin America and Asia have also been warned and are reworking schedules to include fuel stops in third countries or, in some cases, suspending services altogether. For destinations like Varadero and Cayo Coco, whose economies are built around foreign visitors arriving by air, the loss or reduction of international capacity threatens a sharp drop in occupancy, revenue and employment at the height of the winter season.
What This Means for Canadian Travelers
For Canadian travelers currently in Cuba, the immediate message from Air Canada is to stay in touch with tour representatives and monitor communications from the airline rather than trying to rearrange return flights independently. Customers on Air Canada Vacations packages are being assisted by local representatives on the ground, who are coordinating with resorts and the airline to ensure guests are transported to airports in time for northbound flights once exact timings are confirmed.
Travelers with upcoming departures to Cuba face a different set of questions. Air Canada Vacations has introduced a flexible policy that includes automatic full refunds in the original form of payment for customers whose flights are cancelled as a direct result of the suspension. For departures through late February, many affected passengers are being offered penalty free date or destination changes, while those booked further into March and April may receive travel credits or the option to switch to other Caribbean destinations that remain fully served.
Industry observers note that travelers who booked flights and accommodation separately, rather than in a package, will need to work directly with each service provider. While the airline is refunding cancelled tickets, independent hotel bookings and car rentals will be subject to each company’s own cancellation rules. Travel insurance that covers supplier default or trip interruption may soften the blow for some, but policies vary widely and typically exclude disruptions driven by state level economic sanctions or fuel embargoes.
Impact on Cuba’s Tourism Hubs and Local Communities
The withdrawal of Air Canada service hits Cuba at a particularly sensitive moment for its tourism industry. Canadian visitors have long been the largest source market for the island, with winter flights from Toronto, Montreal and other cities funneling hundreds of thousands of sun seekers annually into the resorts of Varadero, the northern keys and eastern beach towns. The suspension of those flights removes a vital artery of visitor arrivals just as high season peaks.
Local hotel managers and tour operators are already bracing for cancellations and early departures driven by both the fuel crisis and the airline response. Cuban authorities have begun consolidating guests into fewer hotels in some regions in order to reduce energy consumption, closing properties with low occupancy and redirecting staff and supplies. For resort workers, many of whom rely on tips and service charges from foreign tourists to support extended families, the drop in visitors threatens to deepen economic hardship.
Beyond the resorts, communities that depend on day trips and excursions from Canadian tourists are also exposed. Taxi drivers, private restaurant owners, guides and artisans all benefit from steady arrivals. When flights disappear, so do the supplemental incomes that have helped many Cubans navigate years of scarcity. Some residents interviewed by international media outlets express understanding that airlines cannot operate without fuel, but also frustration that geopolitical maneuvering over energy supplies is once again being felt most sharply by ordinary people.
How Other Airlines Are Responding
Air Canada may be the highest profile carrier to fully suspend operations, but it is not the only one adjusting to Cuba’s fuel emergency. Other Canadian and international airlines are pursuing a mix of strategies, from continuing flights while tankering large quantities of fuel from departure airports, to adding technical stops in third countries where refuelling is possible. Some European carriers, for example, are reportedly building in stops in Mexico or Caribbean neighbors so they can maintain links to Havana and resort hubs without relying on Cuban fuel stocks.
Several Canadian competitors initially indicated they would maintain scheduled services while carefully monitoring conditions, arguing that their aircraft arrive with sufficient fuel to depart without refuelling or with only minimal top ups. However, aviation analysts warn that as the crisis lengthens and demand patterns shift, these positions could change quickly. Airlines must juggle safety margins, crew duty time limits and commercial viability when deciding whether to keep operating into a destination that has lost much of its fuel infrastructure.
Globally, Cuba’s situation is emerging as a case study in how vulnerable island nations are to external supply shocks in aviation. Carriers have experience with temporary disruptions caused by hurricanes or airport closures, but an open airspace with airports unable to supply fuel for weeks at a time presents a different operational challenge. The decisions made by Air Canada and others over the coming weeks will be closely watched by airlines serving other politically or economically isolated markets.
Advice for Future Trips and Alternative Sun Destinations
For travelers who had been planning a Cuban getaway this winter or spring, the current turmoil inevitably prompts the question of where to go instead. With Air Canada redeploying capacity, some of the aircraft that once flew to Varadero and Cayo Coco are expected to bolster service to other Caribbean and Latin American destinations where fuel supplies and operations remain stable. Package tour operators are already steering customers toward alternatives such as Mexico’s Riviera Maya, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and other Caribbean islands that can absorb additional Canadian demand.
Experts recommend that travelers booking sun vacations in the coming weeks pay particular attention to flexibility. Choosing fares and packages that allow date or destination changes without steep penalties can provide a measure of insurance in a volatile environment. Travel insurance policies that specifically cover flight cancellations, schedule changes and destination disruptions may also be worth considering, though it is essential to review exclusions related to sanctions and geopolitical events.
For those still determined to visit Cuba once conditions improve, monitoring airline announcements over the coming months will be key. Air Canada has signaled that May 1 is a tentative target for restarting at least some Cuba services, but this depends on fuel being reliably available again and on broader political dynamics. Travelers who value predictability may opt to wait for a period of sustained stability and clearer guidance from both airlines and government travel advisories before committing to new bookings.
What Comes Next for Air Canada and Cuba Travel
In the near term, the focus for Air Canada remains squarely on repatriation and customer care. Once the last stranded passengers are safely back in Canada, attention will shift to longer term scheduling, aircraft deployment and negotiations with tour operators and hotel partners left with gaps in their winter programs. The carrier will also be assessing how quickly it could reactivate Cuba routes if fuel flows resume earlier than expected, and how to communicate those changes to a public whose confidence has been shaken.
For Cuba, the end of Air Canada’s regular service is a stark warning about how deeply energy policy intersects with tourism and economic recovery. The island’s efforts to attract foreign investment and rebuild visitor numbers after the pandemic now run headlong into systemic supply constraints that lie largely outside its control. Unless alternative fuel sources or political compromises can be found, the current aviation crisis risks accelerating an exodus of airlines and a drop in arrivals at precisely the moment when tourism revenue is most needed.
For travelers, the episode is a reminder that even well established routes to familiar beach destinations are not immune to sudden disruption. As Air Canada’s empty aircraft head south to bring their customers home, the sight of planes landing without passengers to collect full loads of anxious holidaymakers offers a vivid illustration of how quickly the foundations of modern travel can shift when the fuel that keeps the system running quite literally runs dry.