Cuba woke up this Monday practically without visible commercial air traffic in its airspace, in an unprecedented image that starkly reflects the severity of the fuel crisis the country is experiencing.
The data from Flightradar24 shows that in the early hours of the day, only one commercial flight was recorded leaving the island, the CMP245 from Copa Airlines, headed to Panama City.
The air traffic tracking system captures show the aircraft — a Boeing 737 MAX 8 — departing from Havana headed south, while the rest of Cuban airspace appeared practically empty of regular operations.
The scene contrasts sharply with the usual activity of domestic and international flights, serving as a visual gauge of a situation that had already been officially warned about.
Last Sunday, the José Martí International Airport in Havana issued the international NOTAM A0356/26, confirming that nine international airports in Cuba will not have Jet A-1 fuel for a full month, from February 10, 2026, at 05:00 UTC until March 11, 2026.
The measure affects the terminals in Havana, Varadero, Cienfuegos, Santa Clara, Camagüey, Cayo Coco, Holguín, Santiago de Cuba, and Manzanillo.
The unavailability of standard fuel for commercial aviation forces foreign airlines to fly to Cuba with additional fuel from their origin, make technical stops in third countries to refuel, or, in some cases, cancel operations altogether.
All these alternatives entail a significant increase in operating costs and reduce the feasibility of maintaining regular routes to the island.
Although no airline has announced mass cancellations so far, the fact that the limitation is recorded in a NOTAM—and not in informal warnings—indicates that the issue is officially recognized within international civil aviation systems.
The potential impact is significant. Key connections with the United States, Canada, Europe, and Latin America, including routes to Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Madrid, Cancún, Mexico City, and Panama, are now shrouded in a scenario of high uncertainty. The image of Cuba "without planes" at dawn reinforces the perception of a country increasingly isolated, even in terms of air connectivity.
This situation occurs amid a profound energy crisis characterized by blackouts, transport restrictions, and severe limitations on fuel supply. The shortage of Jet A-1 for civil aviation—a strategic sector for tourism and the economy—adds to a landscape of structural decay that is already affecting nearly every area of the country.
The solitary flight to Panama is not just an anecdote: it symbolizes a collapse that is already evident, even in the skies of Cuba.
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