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Air Canada announced new seasonal direct flights from Edmonton and Winnipeg to Montego Bay, Jamaica, for the winter season of 2026-2027, marking the clearest indication of the profound change that Caribbean tourism has undergone for Canadians following Cuba's disappearance from airline itineraries.
The most significant story for Canadian tourism in the Caribbean right now is not a new resort or a new destination: it is the absence of Cuba, notes a report from the specialized media Caribbean Journal.
For decades, Cuba was the primary sun and beach destination for Canadians during the winter, with direct flights from cities across the country to Varadero, Holguín, Santa Clara, Cayo Coco, and Havana. Everything changed on February 9, 2026, when the island issued aviation advisories confirming that nine international airports would run out of Jet A-1 aviation fuel.
On that same day, Air Canada suspended its flights to Cuba due to a fuel shortage, permanently canceled its seasonal routes to Holguín and Santa Clara, and arranged special flights to repatriate about 3,000 customers stranded on the island.
WestJet and Air Transat followed in the days that followed. Air Transat reported having over 6,500 passengers in Cuba when it announced the cancellation of all its flights. In total, more than 1,700 flights to the island were canceled.
As of June 2026, none of the three major Canadian airlines is operating flights to Cuba, with tentative dates for resumption in October and November 2026.
The impact on Cuban tourism has been devastating. Cuba received only 328,608 international tourists from January to April 2026, a decrease of 55.8% compared to the same period in 2025.
Canadian tourists —historically more than 40% of the total international visitors to the island, with over 750,000 in 2025— decreased by 63.8% in the first four months of 2026: from 346,109 to just 125,444.
Hotel occupancy in Cuba hovers around 21.5% accumulated in 2026, and about 300,000 people connected to the tourism sector are unemployed or underemployed.
While Cuba accumulates losses, Jamaica has quickly seized the opportunity.
Air Canada will operate non-stop flights between Edmonton and Montego Bay every day of the week from December 7, 2026, to April 4, 2027.
It will also launch a non-stop service between Winnipeg and Montego Bay on Sundays and Mondays from December 7, 2026, to April 5, 2027.
For travelers from Alberta and Manitoba, the new service eliminates the need for connections through major Canadian hubs and provides direct access to Jamaica's main tourist gateway.
Jamaica surpassed one million visitors and $956 million in foreign exchange in just the first quarter of 2026, marking a year-on-year growth of 25% from Latin America.
The island combines a wide range of resorts—including the new Princess Grand Jamaica and Princess Senses The Mangrove in Green Island, which added over 1,000 rooms—a strong brand recognition among Canadians, and solid air connectivity.
The aviation crisis in Cuba adds to years of deterioration caused by power outages, shortages of essential goods, and the collapse of infrastructure—direct consequences of 67 years of communist dictatorship that have eroded the regime’s ability to sustain even the supply of fuel in its airports.
As the analysis from Caribbean Journal concludes, the new flights from Air Canada are "another vote of confidence for Jamaica from one of Canada's largest airlines, and further evidence that the island continues to gain momentum as the winter travel landscape in the Caribbean evolves."
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