Cuba suspends fuel supply to airports

“Cuban civil aviation has notified all airlines that there will be no more supply of JetFuel, the aviation fuel, from Tuesday, February 10, at 00:00 local time,” said an employee of a European airline, without identifying himself.

Two other sources shared with the EFE Agency a statement about the adoption of new extreme measures due to the crisis. The official note, addressed to pilots and air traffic controllers, specifies that the kerosene shortage is affecting all of Cuba’s international airports. The notification is valid for one month, from February 10th to March 11th.

“A1 aviation fuel not available,” reads the coded NOTAM message as it currently appears in the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) database. So far, the main airlines affected are American, Spanish, Panamanian and Mexican. The shortage could lead to changes in flight routes, frequencies and schedules, at least in the short term.

Measure will have an immediate impact on Cuban tourism

The announcement is expected to bring even more damage to tourism in Cuba, which has already been plunged into a crisis since the beginning of the pandemic due to the consequences of Covid-19, US sanctions and the country’s economic problems, which compromise the quality of supply and services.

In late January, President Donald Trump signed a presidential order threatening to impose tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba, after asserting that the island poses a threat to US national security.

The decision represented a new point of energy pressure on Cuba, which began on January 3 with the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. The operation put an end to a long partnership between the dictatorships to supply oil.

Over the weekend, a source reported to EFE Agency that the Cuban regime began closing some hotels on the island and transferring tourists to other facilities as part of the package of measures adopted in response to the oil siege.