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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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Cuba has told international airlines it cannot supply them with jet fuel as a high-pressure campaign from the U.S. chokes oil supplies to the island.
The fuel shortage has prompted Air Canada to suspend flights to the island and U.S., Spanish, Panamanian and Mexican airlines are expected to follow suit.
Air Canada said aviation fuel was not expected to be commercially available at airports from Tuesday and its smaller rivals WestJet and Air Transat have also canceled flights.
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President Donald Trump threatened to slap tariffs on countries exporting fuel to Cuba in a move to pressure the Communist government in Havana which was already reeling from the ending of oil coming from Venezuela after the American capture of its leader, Nicolas Maduro.
Mexico, which was Cuba's largest supplier after Caracas, announced it had also halted shipments following the tariff threats by Washington. Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum said her government was working on a diplomatic solution to resume shipments.
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Cuba revealed on Friday rationing plans to protect essential services to supply key sectors, including agricultural production, education, water supply, health care and defense.
Cuban officials had said air travel would not initially be impacted by the measures and the Cuban Aviation Corporation (ECNA) did not mention fuel shortages or flight cancellations in its statement Monday.
However, the shortfall is set to last until March 11, according to a notice to pilots published late on Sunday, Reuters reported.
Spanish carrier Air Europa said it would refuel at Santo Domingo Airport in the Dominican Republic as part of its Madrid–Havana–Madrid route. WestJet said it would wind down its Cuban operations from Monday while Air Transat suspended all flights to Cuba until the end of April.
Cuba's Commerce Minister, Oscar Perez-Oliva, said that day that it was a challenge "we have no doubt we will overcome," and that fuel would be supplied to the tourism and export sectors to ensure the foreign exchange necessary to fund other basic programs.
Fuel shortfalls are common in Cuba and many airlines already have plans in place to deal with them. American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines, which fly to Cuba from nearby Florida, said there had been no impact on their flights.
However, there is growing concern at hard times ahead for Cubans already facing shortages of food, medicine which will be exacerbated by the fuel shortages which have dealt another blow to a country that relies heavily on tourism.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel had said that he was open to talks with the U.S. without preconditions as long as regime change in Havana was not on the table.
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