Cuban aviation authorities have warned airlines of jet fuel shortages at nine airports, including Havana’s José Martí International Airport, from 10 February to 11 March, as a worsening energy crisis, intensified by U.S. sanctions, hits the country.
The notices, published by the Cuban government on Sunday (8 February), mean flights to the island may face delays, refuelling stops or cancellations.
Air Canada announced it would suspend services to Cuba while carrying out “ferry flights” to return around 3,000 passengers, while Spanish carriers Iberia and Air Europa said flights from Madrid would require a stop in the Dominican Republic for refuelling.
American Airlines, Delta and Aeromexico said they could continue flights by carrying sufficient fuel for return journeys.
Political pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump has effectively cut Cuba off from its main petroleum suppliers, Venezuela and Mexico.
In late January, Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs on goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, further intensifying the fuel shortage.
The fuel shortage adds to a broader austerity effort on the island.
Cuban authorities have reduced bank operating hours, curtailed public transport, postponed cultural and sporting events and limited fuel distribution to 20 litres per person, payable in U.S. dollars rather than Cuban pesos.
The public bus network in Havana has effectively shut down, leaving many residents stranded amid power outages lasting up to 10 hours.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel addressed the nation on Thursday (5 February), acknowledging the severity of the energy crisis and warning that further measures would be required to manage limited resources.
The government said it is prioritising critical services, including hospitals, limiting hospital stays and non-urgent surgeries.
Health Minister José Angel Portal Miranda said: “The measures aim to significantly preserve these essential services, reorganise capabilities, concentrate resources where they are most needed and ensure the continuity of services to the population.”
Cuba’s tourism industry, which generated around $3 billion annually and welcomed over 754,000 Canadian visitors in 2025, has also been hit.
Airlines rerouting flights and logistical challenges threaten both short regional trips and long-haul routes from countries including Russia and Canada, a crucial pillar of the economy.
The crisis has drawn international attention.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said: “This sanction being imposed on countries that sell oil to Cuba is very unfair, very unfair. It’s not right, because sanctions that affect the people are not right. One may agree or disagree with the regime in Cuba but the people should never be harmed.”
Mexico shipped more than 800 tons of humanitarian aid to Cuba on Sunday and pledged further support.
Meanwhile, Russia, a long-time ally, described the situation as “truly critical.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the U.S. of implementing a “chokehold” on Cuba and said Moscow was in “intensive contact with our Cuban friends through diplomatic and other channels” to provide assistance.
Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío said the Cuban government is ready for “meaningful” dialogue with the U.S. but will not discuss regime change.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Trump stated that Cuba could avoid a complete cutoff by striking “a deal” with the United States, potentially requiring the return of property confiscated from Cuban exiles.
The energy emergency echoes hardships experienced during Cuba’s 1990s Special Period, with shortages of fuel, food, medicine and electricity. Airlines, tourists and residents now face growing uncertainty over daily life, transport, and the ability to sustain economic activity across the island.
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Cuba has released extensive details of a deadly midweek shootout at sea, showing rifles, pistols and nearly 13,000 rounds of ammunition that it says were carried by a group of exiles who attempted to enter the island by speedboat.
Four people were killed and six detained after armed Cuban exiles aboard a Florida-registered speedboat were intercepted at sea on Wednesday, drawing swift reactions from Washington, Havana and Moscow.
The situation in Cuba was heating up and called for restraint following a deadly incident involving a Florida-registered speedboat off the coast of the Caribbean island, the Kremlin said on Thursday (26 February).
Mexico has dispatched fresh humanitarian shipments to Cuba as fuel shortages deepen under renewed U.S. pressure, while Canada prepares assistance of its own.
The Kremlin is utilising the recent United States and Israeli military strikes on Iran to validate its ongoing war in Ukraine. Russian officials are pointing to the escalation in the Middle East as evidence that Western nations do not adhere to international rules.
Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant Saudi Aramco closed its Ras Tanura refinery on Monday following an Iranian drone strike, an industry source told Reuters as Tehran retaliated across the Gulf after a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iranian targets over the weekend.
The Middle East crisis intensifies after the deadly attack on the compound of the Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei on Saturday that killed him, other family members and senior figures. Iran has launched retaliatory strikes on U.S. targets in the region.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military has enough stockpiled weapons to fight wars "forever"; in a social media post late on Monday. The remarks came hours before conflict in Iran and the Middle East entered its fourth day.
Türkiye raised its security level for Turkish-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz to Level 3 on Sunday (2 March). The development follows Iranian restrictions on shipping after U.S. and Israeli strikes and confirmation of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s death.
Strikes across the Middle East are intensifying, fuelling travel disruption, driving up global energy prices and forcing diplomatic missions to shut their doors as tensions continue to rise.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States has a “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions and is capable of sustaining military action indefinitely, as the conflict with Iran entered its fourth day.
The United Nations has called for an investigation into a deadly attack on a girls’ primary school in Iran, which Iranian officials say has killed more than 100 children. The U.S. has said its forces “would not” deliberately target a school.
U.S. first lady, Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on children and education in conflict on Monday (2 March), a move criticised by Iran as hypocritical following U.S. and Israeli strikes that triggered a UN warning about risks to children.
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