AMERICAN Airlines bosses have made moves that would see it scale back dozens of its flights to a tourist hotspot.
And, if the carrier’s request is approved by federal officials, then it would exit one airport completely.
American Airlines chiefs have filed plans to cut its services to Cuba[/caption]
Flights to Holguin would be at risk if the schedule changes are approved[/caption]
American Airlines has filed motions that would see services to Cuba reduced.
Execs filed a motion in March requesting to cut a number of services to cities including Havana, Holguin, Varadero, and Santiago de Cuba, before a second request was made in June.
American now wants to scale back its daily Miami-Santiago de Cuba round trip, according to papers seen by The U.S. Sun.
The carrier intends to cut three of its eight daily Miami-Havana round trips that take place on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Bosses also suggested trimming four of its eight Miami to Havana round trips that take place on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Execs have also proposed to cut its daily Miami-Holguin round trip service on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
And, there are proposals to cut one of the carrier’s two daily Miami to Santa Clara flights.
American has admitted that their proposed changes will help it grapple with the conditions in the US-Cuba market.
The company believes it would see resources being allocated more effectively.
Although American has filed papers asking to scale back some of its services, it doesn’t mean that the routes will permanently disappear.
The Department of Transportation has to approve the request by the airline.
The U.S. Sun has approached American Airlines for comment. We did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Meanwhile, United will be cutting its direct Houston to Havana route from September 2.
Customers are unable to book flights connecting the Texas city with the Cuban capital beyond September 1.
Delta and Southwest are among the other airlines that provide flights to Cuba.
It doesn’t appear that Southwest bosses are making any changes to their flights schedules.
Americans still book flights from Tampa to Havana in September.
Delta transports passengers between Miami and Havana.
But in December 2017, Delta cut flights between New York’s JFK airport and Havana.
The decision to scale back flights came after passenger numbers between February and August 2017 dropped, as reported by The Business Journal.
Airlines have precedent for reducing its flights to Cuba.
State Department advice when traveling to Cuba
The State Department has issued a series of rules Americans should follow when traveling to Cuba.
- Americans must have a tourist visa, but travel for tourism is banned.
- Travelers are urged to exercise caution because of the risk of petty crime like pick-pocketing.
- Americans should not flash signs of wealth like watches or expensive jewelry
- They should have power banks on standby just in case there is a blackout
- Americans should be aware of their surroundings
- Travelers should exchange US dollars for Cuban Pesos at a licensed bank or airport.
- Travelers who are carrying more than $5,000 must declare this with the Cuban authorities.
- Americans are urged to exchange local currency into US dollars before leaving the island.
In June 2017, Frontier cut its daily Miami to Havana flight and chiefs blamed changes in the market, per The New York Times.
Americans are unable to travel to Cuba for tourism purposes and the Caribbean state – located 90 miles from Miami – is on the list of nations that are a State Sponsor of Terrorism.
Trump re-added Cuba to the list weeks after the country was removed by Joe Biden.
And, he signed an executive order reinstating sanctions Biden reversed.
And, senior Republicans called for tougher restrictions on Cuba.
Florida senator Rick Scott claimed the Cuban military and government benefit most from people traveling to the island.
“ I don’t think we should have any travel to Cuba,” Scott claimed.
The travel restrictions have left some families concerned.
Katheleen Areas told the CBS affiliate WFOR-TV she fears she won’t be able to bring her mom to the US.
In 2022, Biden approved measures that saw flights expanded to airports across the island – not just Havana.
And, the State Department promised to ramp up its visa processing services at centers in Cuba.
If the changes are approved then American would suspend flights to Santiago de Cuba[/caption]
American has filed papers to scale back to Havana[/caption]
