U.S. Airlines Continue Cuba Flights Essentially Uninterrupted, Despite Fuel Shortages

The small handful of U.S. airlines flying to Cuba continue to do so despite the ongoing fuel shortage that is causing Canadian carriers to cut schedules to the island.

Both Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines confirmed to TMR on Wednesday that they are operating their flight schedules to Cuba, albeit significantly smaller than those of Air Canada and Transat, without interruption.

Delta Air Lines operates one daily roundtrip flight to José Martí International Airport in Havana from Miami International Airport, and Southwest operates one single daily flight between Tampa International Airport and Havana.

American Airlines, which operates roughly 10 daily roundtrip flights between Miami International Airport and Havana, told the Miami Herald on Monday that it is “closely monitoring the situation” and, according to flight schedules, has continued its full schedule of flights. TMR has reached out for comment.

The whole issue stems from Feb. 8, 2026, when Cuba issued an official notice (NOTAM) warning that jet fuel (kerosene) would not be available for refueling at nine major airports, including Havana, until at least March 11, 2026.

The reason why Southwest and Delta can continue operations, while Air Canada, WestJet, and other Canadian carriers can’t, is the distance from Tampa and Miami to Havana is short enough for those planes to not have to refuel in Havana. .

For instance, a spokesperson for Southwest told TMR that the daily flight from Tampa is flying with enough fuel to also fly to the next destination.

“Due to the current status of aviation fuel in Cuba, Southwest Airlines is requiring aircraft that fly to Havana to carry enough fuel to also fly to their next destination. The airline currently operates one flight daily to Havana. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees,” the spokesperson said to TMR.

While the U.S. government prohibits purely leisure travel to Cuba, it continues to allow travel under 12 authorized categories, including family visits, journalistic activity, educational activities, official government business, and more. When Americans book a flight to Cuba, the airlines will require them to “self-certify” which category they fall under.