Russian Airlines Suspend Flights To Cuba, Begin Evacuation Of Citizens, Over Fuel Crisis

Another major blow has hit Cuba as its economy gets decimated by US-led sanctions, and as Trump’s embargo of vital Venezuelan oil for the island continues rolling downhill (Mexico had quickly followed suit by halting its oil to Cuba as well).

Amid the fuel shortage which has caused mass disruptions and flight stoppages at the main hub José Martí international Airport, two of Russia’s largest airlines have announced the suspension of flights to Cuba.

Moscow has already declared operations to evacuate all Russian tourists and citizens who wish to leave, and so outbound-only flights to bring them home have been authorized.

Rossiya, part of the Aeroflot group, and Severny Veter (Nordwind), are impacted – and the outbound-only evacuation flights have been authorized to begin Thursday.

The airlines said they are being forced to redirect flight routes in the region “due to challenges with refueling in Cuba.”

This follows on the heels of flagship carrier Air Canada being one of the first major international airlines to suspend flights. Canada currently has no economic sanctions against Cuba, and trades with the island-nation, having maintained diplomatic relations going all the way back to 1959.

While Americans have by and large been absent from the Caribbean nation, also given no direct flights from the US, Cuba has long been a favored tropical vacation destination for Canadians. 

Earlier this month international reports said Cuba was merely days from running out of fuel, and widescale power outages across various districts of the country have only worsened. 

“The last known delivery came via a tanker from Mexico in early January, but Mexico halted exports amid US pressure,” The Guardian notes. “At the same time, crude flows from Venezuela have dried up after a US operation in January that resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro, cutting off support from Cuba’s most trusted energy supplier.”

Havana’s lone primary international airport has seen drastic developments such as the following:

In recent hours, a video has gone viral on social media showing dozens of tourists disembarking from a plane on the tarmac in Moscow after their flight to Cuba was aborted just before takeoff.

The testimonies collected by the Russian outlet Mash on Telegram indicate that passengers on flight SU6849 had almost taken off when, “at the last moment, when the engines were already running, the pilot announced that there was no fuel in Havana,” forcing the flight to be canceled at the last minute.

The below scene was captured days ago…

A herd of Russian savages had to disembark their flight to Cuba at the last minute, after the beleagured Russian-allied nation stated that there is no longer any jet fuel in the country. pic.twitter.com/LknL3kSA1s

— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) February 9, 2026

The Kremlin meanwhile says it is exploring ways to get urgent humanitarian assistance to the Cuban people, as the economic situation and national infrastructure spirals.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that “the stranglehold imposed by the United States is already causing a lot of difficulties for Cuba” and this has resulted in the two allies discussing “possible ways to resolve these problems or at least provide all possible assistance.”