US airlines appear poised to significantly reduce their flights to Cuba due to sagging demand amid political and economic turmoil.
Three carriers recently asked the US Department of Transportation (DOT) for permission not to use authorities granting them permission to fly to Cuba.
The agency has in the last several days granted some of those requests, clearing airlines to pare back flights.
The moves come as airlines in numerous countries have cancelled flights to Cuba due to a fuel shortage. The US government recently issued notices (effective through 4 April) warning that Cuba’s airports may be without fuel. Electricity is also in short supply.
On 27 February, American Airlines asked the DOT for a so-called “dormancy waiver” covering its US-Cuba routes during the upcoming Northern Hemisphere summer season, which lasts from 29 March to 24 October. Such waivers allow airlines to stop operating routes without losing rights to serve them.
On 30 January, American requested waivers for only some of its Cuba routes. But in an updated request filed on 27 February, the airline asked that the waiver be expanded to “all its US-Cuba frequencies.”
Those frequencies include eight daily Miami-Havana round-trip flights, two daily between Miami and Santa Clara, and one each daily between Miami and Camaguey, Holguin, Varadero and Santiago de Cuba.
American cites “deterioration of conditions in Cuba that has destabilised passenger demand.”
“Current infrastructure challenges in Cuba warrant flexibility,” American says. “The US embassy in Havana issued a security alert reporting that Cuba’s ‘national electrical grid is increasingly unstable and prolonged scheduled and unscheduled power outages are a daily occurrence.’”
It also notes that US secretary of state Marco Rubio recently publicly stated that Cuba faces an economic crisis.
The DOT approved American’s request on 13 March.
The airline does not respond to a request for comment about its plans for US-Cuba flights.
Also on 13 March, the DOT approved similar summer dormancy requests from Delta Air Lines (covering two daily Miami-Havana and one daily Atlanta-Havana round-trip flights) and from JetBlue Airways (covering 20 weekly Fort Lauderdale-Havana flights).
Cuba has grappled with fuel shortages following the 3 January capture and ouster of Venezuela’s former president Nicolas Maduro by US special forces. Following that mission, the administration of US President Donald Trump started blocking shipments of Venezuelan oil to Cuba.
