Bolivian Airline suspends its flights to Cuba

Boliviana de Aviación (boA) will stop flying to Havana starting on July 25, the direct route between the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra and the Cuban capital.

The suspension of the route takes place just nine months after starting, in October of last year, a weekly flight to Havana on a Boeing 737-800, as specified by an online aviation portal.

The main airline of the South American nation did not specify the reason for the cancellation of the route, although analysts in the sector anticipate that this type of actions usually occur when the business is unsustainable and generates losses.

Bolivia requires a visa for Cuba, which also does not favor the movement of travelers in the Havana-Santa Cruz de la Sierra direction.

BoA arrived in the Caribbean in October 2023 as part of an expansion that included not only Havana but also the addition of flights to Caracas (Venezuela) and Asunción (Paraguay).

The airline maintains the two mentioned destinations unchanged, as well as its current operations to Buenos Aires, Lima, Madrid, Miami, and São Paulo.

Boliviana de Aviación was founded in 2007 after the closure of Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano and has stood out for offering affordable flights, both domestic and international.

For Cuba, the cancellation of Boliviana de Aviación flights to the island is another loss of connectivity with South America, since earlier this year Aerolíneas Argentinas suspended its flights to Havana, coinciding with the arrival to power of Javier Milei.

Later, Cubana de Aviación suspended its operations to the Argentine capital due to issues with aircraft fuel suppliers.

Another connection that the island lost is Medellin-Havana, operated by Wingo.

However, not everything is a loss for Cuba, as it is expected that starting on July 2nd, Avianca will resume its flights between Bogotá and Havana.

In addition, Arajet recently requested to connect the Cuban capital with its hub in Santo Domingo.

LATAM, through Lima, and Copa Airlines, via Panama City, are the main ways to connect to Cuba from South America.

In addition, Wingo connects Havana with Bogotá, Colombia. Furthermore, Conviasa and Cubana de Aviación offer weekly flights between Caracas, Venezuela, and Havana.

FlyAllways offers flights from Georgetown, Guyana to Havana and Santiago de Cuba. SKY High Dominicana connects the Cuban and Guyanese capitals. It mainly transports Cuban citizens seeking U.S. visas and shopping tourism.

The Cuban government has been failing to meet its plans for tourist arrivals in Cuba for almost five years, but it continues to build new luxury hotels that remain empty all year round.

In 2023, the planned target was to reach 3.5 million tourists, but they barely managed to receive 70 percent of the goal. This sector, crucial for the island's depressed economy, still does not show true signs of recovery.