Russia and Cuba are negotiating the reinstatement of direct flights between the two countries, which have been suspended since February due to the fuel crisis on the island, amid a 73.3% drop in the arrival of Russian visitors during the first eight months of 2026.
The director of the Russian Federal Aviation Agency (Rosaviatsiya), Dmitri Yadrov, met with the president of the Cuban Civil Aviation Corporation, Joel Beltrán Archer Santos, to discuss the possibilities of resuming air connections, as reported by the Russian newspaper Vedomosti on October 9.
Although the meeting confirms that both governments are seeking to restore the routes, no dates or concrete agreements were announced to resume the flights.
According to figures from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), between January and August, only 21,563 visitors arrived on the island from Russia, compared to 80,653 during the same period in 2025. The difference represents 59,090 fewer people.
The decline was even more pronounced in August, when Cuba received only 189 Russian visitors, compared to 8,463 recorded in the same month the previous year, a drop of 97.8%.
The situation also impacts the marketing of tourist packages. According to data from the Russian Association of Tour Operators (ATOR), cited by Vedomosti, Cuba is no longer among the top ten destinations in travel sales for trips scheduled for the end of October.
Fuel remains the main obstacle to restoring connections.
On October 5, Alexander Shchetinin, the director of the Latin America Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acknowledged that the resumption of flights remains on the bilateral agenda, although it requires meeting certain conditions.
In statements to RIA Novosti, reported by the specialized portal TourDom, the diplomat expressed his expectation that these obstacles can be resolved, without specifying a timeline.
The airlines Rossiya and Nordwind suspended their regular operations to Cuba in February, after airport authorities warned about the shortage of Jet A-1 fuel at the country's international terminals.
The crisis forced the organization of return flights for Russian tourists who were remaining on the island and disrupted the regular connections with one of the markets that the Cuban government had sought to enhance.
The problem is part of a much broader contraction in national tourism. Cuba received only 450,353 international visitors between January and August 2026, a decrease of 64.4% compared to the same period the previous year.
For now, the new discussions do not guarantee the return of flights. The recovery of routes remains contingent on the challenges of fuel supply and the ability to restore regular air operations.
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