Related videos:
Air Canada announced on Monday the immediate suspension of its flights to Cuba due to the shortage of aviation fuel on the island, a situation that impacts the reliability of supply at Cuban airports.
In an official statement, the airline explained that the decision was made following warnings issued by governments and aeronautical notifications alerting about the lack of fuel, and specified that starting from February 10, it will not be commercially available at the country's airports.
The company announced that in the coming days, it will operate empty flights to Cuba to pick up and return to Canada about 3,000 customers who are already on the island, most of them package travelers from Air Canada Vacations.
For the flights that remain in operation, Air Canada indicated that it will transport additional fuel from the point of origin and will make technical stops if necessary to refuel during the return journey, as part of the measures to ensure the safety of operations.
The airline stated that it will continue to monitor the situation in order to determine when it would be appropriate to resume normal service to Cuba at a future date.
Regarding the routes, Air Canada specified that the seasonal flights to Holguín and Santa Clara will be canceled for the remainder of the season, while the year-round connections to Varadero and Cayo Coco will remain suspended, with a tentative restart possible from May 1, subject to review.
The company added that the aircraft operating these routes will be redistributed to other destinations while operations to the island remain suspended.
According to the latest report from the Cuban Company of Airports and Aeronautical Services, Air Canada was scheduled to maintain operations throughout February at the international airports Juan Gualberto Gómez in Varadero, Jardines del Rey in Cayo Coco, Abel Santamaría in Santa Clara, and Frank País in Holguín.
This Monday, following the announcement from the Havana regime that it no longer has fuel to supply airlines connecting to the Island, Iberia has confirmed to CiberCuba that it does not believe "the situation will lead to modifications or cancellations of operations between Madrid and Cuba."
However, Iberia assures that it maintains "constant monitoring of the situation to take the necessary measures it deems appropriate."
At the moment, the Spanish company "has activated a rate flexibility option for passengers with tickets already issued to Cuba who wish to make voluntary changes to their travel plans."
They do this, they emphasize, "in light of the current supply difficulties in Cuba."
However, amidst this situation, authorities from the civil aviation system assured this Monday that Cuban airspace remains operational, despite the crisis the country is experiencing and the energy limitations affecting various sectors.
In a statement published on its official Facebook page, the Cuban Air Navigation Company S.A. asserted that it continues to operate its services uninterruptedly 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and that its priority remains the safety of all operations under its responsibility.
The entity stated that it is working to ensure the efficiency and accuracy of technical services and air traffic control, as well as compliance with international standards and protocols, aiming to guarantee the smoothness and order of air traffic.
Filed under: