Cuba runs out of jet fuel; airlines will have to refuel in DR

Havana.- Cuba is left this Monday without jet fuel, further evidence of the serious effects that the US oil strangulation is having on an island that was already in a serious economic and energy crisis. Cuban authorities informed airlines this Sunday through the communications service Notam (Notice to Aviators) and the companies with daily flights to the island, mainly American, Spanish, Mexican, and Panamanian, began to take emergency measures. Spanish airlines Air Europa and Iberia, with daily routes to Havana (Cuba), reported that from now on their flights from the island to Madrid will include a technical refueling stop in the Dominican Republic. Air Canada, Canada's main airline, announced today that it will immediately suspend its services to Cuba due to the lack of fuel. Other Canadian companies, the first source market for tourism to the island, began to readjust their frequencies and routes, as well as offering cancellation of reservations or changes without penalty to their customers.

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The notice from the Cuban authorities in Notam affected the nine international airports in Cuba and was, in principle, valid for a month, from February 10 to March 11. The entire tourism sector, essential for the Cuban economy, is being affected by the US oil siege, which first ended shipments from Venezuela (January 3) and then threatened tariffs on countries supplying crude oil to the island (January 29). Among the emergency measures included in the harsh package announced by the Cuban government to try to subsist without oil imports (despite the fact that the island only produces a third of its energy needs) is the "compaction of hotel infrastructures". Indeed, as confirmed to EFE this Saturday by sources in the sector, several hotels in the country - mainly in Varadero and the northern keys - have closed their doors urgently and transferred their tourists to other facilities as a cost-saving measure. The Spanish hotel chain Meliá explained to EFE that they closed three facilities on the island provisionally, an operational decision "based strictly on occupancy levels" to optimize resources and with the priority of guaranteeing the best service and experience to customers. Tourism in Cuba was already in decline due to the combination of the pandemic, US sanctions, and the country's crisis. Last year closed with barely 1.8 million international visitors, compared to 4.7 in 2018. Tourism had been one of the three largest sources of foreign currency in Cuba, along with remittances and medical missions (another two areas in decline).