February 11, 2026 | 04:15 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Two more Canadian airlines, Air Transat and WestJet, announced a halt in flights to Cuba. The move comes after Air Canada said on Monday it was stopping service to the island due to a lack of guaranteed fuel supply.
Air Transat said it was canceling all flights to Cuba until at least April 30. This follows "the rapid developments of the past few hours and the announcement by Cuban authorities of an anticipated aviation fuel shortage at destination airports," it said in a statement.
Cuba warned on Sunday that jet fuel will be unavailable at airports across the island beginning 10 February through 11 March.
WestJet announced an "orderly wind-down" of its services, adding it would begin sending empty planes to Cuba, stocked with extra fuel, to bring customers home.
Air Canada said it would also send empty flights to pick up and fly home about 3,000 customers in Cuba.
Similar crises have prompted carriers to refuel in nearby third countries, including Panama, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and the United States.
The fuel shortage is a further economic blow to the country that relies heavily on tourism.
Why doesn't Cuba have oil and jet fuel?
Historically, Venezuela was the biggest supplier of oil and jet fuel to Cuba followed by Mexico.
Venezuela provided about one-third of the island's daily needs in 2025.
But Cuba hasn't received any crude or refined products from the South American country since mid-December when the U.S. started blocking Venezuelan oil exports to the communist-run island.
This was even before U.S. troops kidnapped Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in early January.
Mexico only ever shipped a fraction of the oil that came from Venezuela.
But Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Monday that oil shipments to Cuba are "on hold" following U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to impose tariffs on any country that provides oil to the Caribbean island.
Why has Germany issued a travel warning for Cuba?
Germany advised on Tuesday against all non-essential travel to Cuba
"Cuba is facing an acute energy crisis, which is also being compounded by widespread dilapidated energy infrastructure," the German foreign ministry said in the advisory.
The country is facing "significant shortages in energy and fuel supplies, which are affecting all areas of life," including medical care, it said.
"Public transport, street lighting, traffic lights, cash machines, communication and security systems are already severely restricted or may fail," it said.
How bad is Cuba's energy crisis?
The oil shortages have threatened to plunge Cuba into complete darkness, with power plants struggling to keep the lights on.
The Cuban government has announced emergency measures, including a four-day working week for state-owned companies and fuel sale restrictions.
Cuban officials also announced Monday that bank hours have been reduced and cultural events suspended.
In the capital Havana, the public bus system has effectively ground to a halt, leaving residents stranded as endemic power outages and grueling fuel lines reach a breaking point.
Read: Cuba Faces Dire Jet Fuel Shortage Amid Trump's Blockade
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