Ottawa [Canada], February 10 (ANI): Air Canada suspended its services to Cuba, citing an aviation fuel shortage. The airline will operate empty flights to Cuba to pick up and return customers, a statement by the airline said.

Air Canada said that it is suspending its service to Cuba due to an ongoing shortage of aviation fuel on the island. Over the following days, the airline will operate empty flights southbound to pick up approximately 3,000 customers already at their destination and return them home.

Air Canada made the decision following advisories issued by governments (NOTAMs) regarding the unreliability of the aviation fuel supply at Cuban airports. It is projected that as of February 10, aviation fuel will not be commercially available at the island's airports. For the remaining flights, Air Canada will tanker in extra fuel and make technical stops as necessary to refuel on the return journey if necessary.

It will continue to monitor the situation to determine an appropriate date to resume normal service to Cuba.

Air Canada's immediate priority is to return customers already in Cuba to Canada, the statement said. It will operate empty-ferry flights to the island over the coming days to maintain its regular schedule from Cuba to Canada in the near term and pick up these customers.

It currently has approximately 3,000 customers in Cuba, most of whom are travelling on Air Canada Vacations Packages.

Throughout the process, Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations monitored the situation closely, first introducing a flexible rebooking policy for customers travelling to Cuba. Air Canada Vacations is now introducing a refund policy, allowing customers who had scheduled departures to Cuba and experienced flight cancellations to automatically receive a full refund in their original form of payment. There is no need for these customers to contact the Air Canada Vacations' Contact Centre.

Customers currently in Cuba who booked an Air Canada Vacations package can receive direct support from Air Canada Vacations' local representatives, who are available to address any questions or concerns.

Air Canada, in its statement, shared its Cuba schedule. Air Canada operates on average 16 weekly flights to four destinations in Cuba from Toronto and Montreal.

These include: From Toronto: four times weekly to Jardines del Rey Airport in Cayo Coco, two times weekly to Frank Pais Airport in Holguin, four times weekly to Juan Gualberto Gomez Airport in Varadero, once weekly to Abel Santamaria Airport in Santa Clara.

From Montreal: three times weekly to Jardines del Rey Airport in Cayo Coco, two times weekly to Juan Gualberto Gomez Airport in Varadero.

At present, seasonal flights to Holguin and Santa Clara are cancelled for the rest of the season. Flights to Varadero and Cayo Coco are scheduled to operate year-round but are currently suspended with a tentative restart, pending review, on May 1. All Flights are normally operated on various narrow-body aircraft between Mainline and Rouge. Air Canada will look to redeploy these aircraft to other destinations. (ANI)