Canadian holidaymakers heading to Cuba are facing a wave of last minute disruptions as a sudden jet fuel shortage forces airlines to scrap or radically rework flights into some of the island’s most popular beach gateways. WestJet and Air Canada Rouge have now cancelled or suspended more than a dozen services to resort airports including Varadero, Cayo Coco, Holguín and Cayo Largo del Sur, leaving tour operators scrambling to repatriate customers and rebook winter sun seekers at the height of the peak season.
A Sudden Crisis at Cuba’s Resort Airports
The turmoil began after Cuban aviation authorities issued urgent operational notices in early February warning that Jet A-1 fuel would not be available for at least a month at the country’s nine international airports. The restrictions, effective from February 10 through at least March 11, cover all major tourist gateways, including Varadero’s Juan Gualberto Gómez, Jardines del Rey at Cayo Coco, Frank País in Holguín and the island airport serving Cayo Largo del Sur. Overnight, the Caribbean’s second largest island found itself unable to guarantee basic refuelling for foreign carriers.
For airlines, the implications are immediate and severe. Without reliable on the ground fuel, carriers must either tanker in enough fuel for a round-trip, add technical stops in third countries to refuel, or cancel altogether. In practice, that has translated into a patchwork of repatriation flights, route suspensions and schedule changes as Canadian and European airlines reassess their Cuba programs day by day. What began as a technical fuel advisory has quickly spiralled into the most serious aviation disruption Cuba has seen in years.
Varadero, Cayo Coco, Holguín and Cayo Largo del Sur are among the hardest hit because they are almost entirely dependent on international leisure traffic. These destinations exist for tourists: large, all inclusive resorts, charter flights, and package holidays built around non stop service from Canada and Europe. Remove aviation fuel from the equation and the entire model begins to unravel.
WestJet and Air Canada Rouge Pull Back
Canadian airlines, which dominate Cuba’s winter leisure market, have been among the first to cut capacity. WestJet has quietly scrubbed a run of flights from smaller Canadian gateways to Cuban resorts, including services aimed at funneling travelers from regional cities directly to Varadero and Cayo Coco. While some core routes from major hubs are being maintained using tankering strategies, WestJet’s schedule shows a clear reduction in frequencies to affected airports over the coming weeks as the fuel crisis plays out.
Air Canada’s low cost leisure arm, Air Canada Rouge, has gone further. Parent company Air Canada announced on February 9 that it was suspending all commercial service to Cuba in response to the fuel shortage, a decision that effectively grounds Rouge’s Cuba leisure program for the time being. The airline is now operating “empty” southbound aircraft solely to pick up customers already on the island and bring them home, a costly but necessary move designed to clear the backlog of stranded passengers at resort airports.
Between WestJet’s cancellations and Rouge’s full suspension, more than a dozen flights serving Varadero, Cayo Coco, Holguín and Cayo Largo del Sur have already disappeared from February schedules, with more at risk if fuel supplies are not restored quickly. For travelers, the distinction between a technical “suspension” and a “cancellation” makes little difference; the outcome is the same: holidays disrupted, plans upended and uncertainty over when normal flying might resume.
Repatriation Flights and Stranded Tourists
The immediate priority for Canadian carriers has shifted from selling holidays to getting people home. Air Canada estimates that roughly 3,000 of its customers were on the island when the fuel advisory took effect. To retrieve them, the airline is dispatching aircraft from Canadian hubs with enough fuel on board to operate a round trip without relying on Cuban supplies, or with a planned technical stop in a nearby country for refuelling on the return leg.
WestJet is taking a similar approach on certain high volume routes, sending aircraft into Varadero and Cayo Coco with extra fuel reserves. The goal is to maintain return flights for as many customers as possible while avoiding the risk of an aircraft becoming stranded in Cuba without fuel to depart. These operations require tight coordination between airlines, air traffic control and foreign airports willing to accept unplanned fueling stops for Canadian jets that would ordinarily operate non stop.
For holidaymakers on the ground, the experience is mixed. Some are being told their return flights will operate on time, albeit with altered flight numbers or routing. Others have received notifications that their departures are being brought forward, pushed back, or moved to different Cuban airports altogether to consolidate operations. Travel advisors in Canada report a surge in calls from anxious clients in Varadero and Cayo Coco who are hearing conflicting information at resort front desks and from tour representatives, even as airlines insist that repatriation plans are well in hand.
In a handful of cases, entire resort complexes in fuel constrained areas such as Cayo Coco and parts of Holguín are temporarily closing or reducing services, prompting tour operators to relocate guests to properties in less affected regions. The combination of patchy fuel supplies, power cuts and a shrinking flight schedule is making it increasingly difficult for Cuba’s tourism industry to project a sense of normality.
What the Fuel Shortage Means for Future Bookings
The crisis could not have come at a more sensitive time. February and March are peak travel months for Canadians seeking winter sun, and Cuba remains one of the most popular all inclusive destinations in the Caribbean. Travel agents across Canada were already managing a strong bookings season for Varadero, Cayo Coco and Holguín when the fuel notice emerged. Now they are being forced to revisit hundreds of itineraries and advise clients that their trips may not go ahead as planned.
Both WestJet and Air Canada Rouge have activated flexible change and cancellation policies for Cuba. WestJet is allowing one time changes without penalty on affected routes, while Air Canada has moved to automatic refunds or credits for flights cancelled as a result of the suspension. Tour operators affiliated with the airlines are offering rebooking onto alternative sun destinations in Mexico or the Dominican Republic, or shifting Cuba holidays to later dates on the assumption that fuel supplies will stabilize by late spring.
Even so, there is a growing recognition within the Canadian travel trade that Cuba’s image as a reliable, value oriented winter destination has taken a hit. The notion that an entire national aviation system could lose access to jet fuel for a month is deeply unsettling for travellers who prize certainty and safety in their holiday planning. Some operators report that clients are proactively moving their March and April Cuba trips to other Caribbean islands rather than waiting to see whether the fuel problem is resolved in time.
Looking further ahead, airlines will be wary of committing capacity back into Cuban resort airports until they are confident that the underlying fuel supply issues have been addressed. That could mean a slow and cautious ramp up of services to Varadero, Cayo Coco, Holguín and Cayo Largo del Sur, rather than an immediate return to full schedules once the current restrictions formally expire.
Inside Cuba’s Jet Fuel Squeeze
The immediate trigger for the cancellations is operational, but the roots of Cuba’s jet fuel squeeze are geopolitical and economic. The island has long depended on fuel shipments from foreign partners, historically Venezuela and more recently a patchwork of suppliers willing to navigate United States restrictions. Any disruption to those flows leaves Cuba vulnerable, not just at the pump for ordinary citizens but at the airport for international airlines.
Recent tightening in the broader energy market, combined with political pressure on countries that supply fuel to Cuba, appears to have left Havana with insufficient reserves to guarantee aviation fuel for the peak tourist season. Faced with the prospect of having to choose between keeping lights on domestically or fuelling foreign jets, Cuban authorities have opted to issue a blunt warning to airlines that jet fuel will not be commercially available for several weeks.
Industry analysts note that such a move is virtually unprecedented for a country so dependent on inbound leisure traffic. Aviation consultants warn that even a short term fuel outage can inflict long lasting reputational damage. Airlines must rework route networks and crew schedules, while tour operators must explain to clients why a once stable destination can no longer be relied upon. It is a reminder that aviation and geopolitics are deeply intertwined, and that destinations under sanctions or facing chronic energy shortages can see those vulnerabilities exposed with little warning.
Impact on Local Tourism Hubs
For Varadero, Cayo Coco, Holguín and Cayo Largo del Sur, the timing could hardly be worse. These resort enclaves are heavily invested in all inclusive tourism, with local economies calibrated around a predictable flow of charter and scheduled flights from Canada and Europe. When those flights vanish, so too do the incomes of thousands of workers in hotels, restaurants, excursion companies and transport services who rely on high season business to carry them through the quieter summer months.
Local tour guides and small business owners report that February’s fuel crisis has compounded an already challenging backdrop of currency instability and supply shortages. Some hotels in outlying cays have scaled back amenities, citing difficulties in securing fuel for generators, airport transfers and excursion boats. Others have quietly brought forward seasonal maintenance closures, hoping to ride out the worst of the disruption while keeping core staff on reduced hours.
Cayo Largo del Sur, a remote island heavily reliant on charter flights, is particularly exposed. With limited alternative transport options and a narrow local market, any prolonged interruption in air service risks leaving resorts empty and staff unpaid. While larger hubs such as Varadero may be able to absorb some of the shock by redirecting guests and consolidating flights, the smaller cays have less margin for error when aviation falters.
How quickly these tourism hubs recover will depend on more than just fuel deliveries. Confidence among foreign partners, from airlines to tour operators, will need to be rebuilt. That will require clear communication from Cuban authorities about the stability of fuel supplies and contingency plans to avoid a repeat of this winter’s turmoil.
What Travelers Should Do Now
For travellers with imminent trips to Cuba, the most important step is to monitor booking details closely and communicate directly with airlines or tour operators rather than relying on informal updates from social media or hotel staff. With schedules changing rapidly, a flight that appears in a search engine one day may be cancelled or re timed the next. Passengers should ensure that airlines have up to date contact information and that they are opted in to receive notifications about schedule changes.
Those due to travel in the coming weeks should check whether flexible change policies apply to their tickets and consider alternative plans if travel dates fall within the period of the documented fuel shortage. Many packages allow date or destination changes without penalty, and some tour operators are proactively offering the option to switch to other sun destinations for clients uncomfortable with the level of uncertainty around Cuban operations.
Travel insurance can provide an additional safety net, but policies vary widely in their treatment of fuel related disruptions and schedule changes. Holidaymakers are advised to review policy wording carefully and, where possible, choose coverage that includes trip interruption and cancellation for supplier default or significant schedule changes. Keeping receipts and written communication from airlines and hotels will be essential if claims need to be filed.
Above all, travellers should be prepared for a degree of flexibility and patience. Airports that are still operating under fuel constraints may see longer queues, altered boarding processes and last minute gate changes as carriers juggle limited resources. Being ready for itinerary changes and allowing extra time at the airport can help reduce stress in what is, by any measure, an exceptional situation.
A Stress Test for Cuba’s Aviation Future
The current jet fuel shortage is more than just a temporary disruption to winter holidays. It is a stress test of Cuba’s aviation infrastructure and its relationship with the international travel industry. For years, the island has leaned on its appeal as an affordable, culturally rich Caribbean destination within easy reach of Canadian cities. That value proposition depends on reliable, year round air service to resort hubs such as Varadero, Cayo Coco, Holguín and Cayo Largo del Sur.
If airlines and travellers begin to view Cuba as operationally risky due to recurring fuel or power problems, the country could find itself losing market share to competitors that can offer similar beaches and all inclusive resorts with fewer uncertainties. Canadian and European carriers will not hesitate to redeploy aircraft to Mexico, the Dominican Republic or other Caribbean islands if they believe those markets offer a more stable environment for their operations and their customers.
For now, the focus remains on managing the immediate crisis: repatriating stranded passengers, stabilizing the remaining flight programme and waiting for fuel supplies to normalize. In the months ahead, however, a broader conversation will be needed between Cuban authorities, airlines and tour operators about how to prevent a repeat of this winter’s turmoil. That will likely involve not only securing more robust fuel supply chains but also improving transparency and contingency planning so that when problems arise, they do not come as such a shock to the system.
Until then, Cuba’s tourism sector faces an anxious few weeks. For travellers, the lesson is clear: even the most familiar destinations can be vulnerable to sudden disruption, and in an interconnected world, a shortage of jet fuel thousands of kilometres away can upend holiday plans in an instant.