Southwest cutting back on Cuba flights
Yet another US airline is cutting back on services to Cuba.
Dallas based Southwest Airlines is the latest to end Cuba routes with flights to Varadero and Santa Clara ending on September 4.
The carrier will still continue flying to Havana from Ft Lauderdale and Tampa, it said.
Southwest is the first airline to cut capacity since President Trump announced new stricter rules governing travel to Cuba.
"Our decision to discontinue the other Cuba flights comes after an in-depth analysis of our performance over several months which confirmed that there is not a clear path to sustainability serving these markets, particularly with the continuing prohibition in U.S. law on tourism to Cuba for American citizens," said Steve Goldberg, SVP of ground operations.
Customers booked to travel to Varadero and Santa Clara after September 4 will be contacted and offered refunds.
Still, it remains bullish on Havana and wants to increase capacity to the capital.
It is seeking approval for a third daily flight from Ft Lauderdale after other US carriers pulled out due to overcapacity.
American Airlines and JetBlue have both cut back in recent months while Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Silver Airways pulled out of Cuba altogether.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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