While the Canadians are inside Cuba waiting for flights home like energy crisis worsens in a country amid a US oil blockade, those sending aid are struggling to do so.

On February 9, Cuba warned international airlines that aviation fuel will no longer be available on the island starting February 10, in the latest sign of rapidly deteriorating conditions as the United States tries to cut off oil supplies to the communist-run nation.

Major Canadian airlines, including Air Canada, WestJet and Air Transat, have already suspended flights to Cuba. All three airlines have confirmed they plan to return passengers home to Canada.

Calgary-based WestJet says its decision to end winter operations will affect WestJet, Sunwing Vacations, WestJet Vacations and Vacances WestJet Quebec.

Air Canada said the decision to cancel flights to Cuba came after “warnings from governments regarding the unreliability of aviation fuel supplies at Cuban airports.”

Venezuela has historically been Cuba’s main oil supplier, but in early 2026 it cut off those oil exports as a result of recent geopolitical turmoil following its takeover by the United States.

The Trump administration is excluding Cuba from using its traditional fuel sources in an effort to pressure the island nation off the coast of Florida, which has been under severe economic sanctions imposed by the US government for decades.

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Air Canada suspends flights to Cuba due to fuel shortage

Amid efforts to get Canadians out, those providing aid say they are now scrambling to send it.

“The Cuban people are devastated,” said Jennifer Raymer, director of Together for Cuba. “Obviously they rely on tourists coming there for jobs and taxi services and hotels and food and, you know, Canadians are known for bringing help.”

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The Ontario-based aid agency sends 600 large bags each year to Cuba, weighing about 14,000 kg, full of medicine, surgical supplies and other medical aid.

“I knew that as soon as this all happened—that all the airlines stopped—we’d be stuck here in Canada and we wouldn’t be able to get help. I haven’t slept since yesterday.”

Stopping deliveries will make life even more difficult in the impoverished island nation.

“The Cuban people are going to have an even tougher fight. A lot of our medical bags include prescription drugs for heart and diabetes and various things, as well as surgical bags. These bags save lives,” Raymer said.

As airlines wind down their operations to Cuba, Raymer hoped one of them would agree to carry medical supplies on one of the empty flights sent to Cuba to evacuate more than 7,000 stranded Canadian tourists.

So far, no one has come forward.

“It means people can’t go for surgeries or get the medications they need. There are surgical packages out there that people are waiting for, and now they’re in London, Ont.,” Raymer said.

“We’re struggling to find a way to get them out.”

Interim NDP Leader Don Davies said Tuesday that Canada must provide immediate support to Cuba in the face of “escalating aggression” by the Trump administration.

“Recent U.S. actions are causing a serious humanitarian crisis and disrupting travel across the region, stranding Canadians as airlines suspend flights,” Davies said in a statement.

By threatening tariffs on any third country that ships fuel to the island, the Trump administration is expanding American economic coercion in dangerous new ways.

Davies claimed that Prime Minister Mark Carney had remained “mute” in the face of Trump’s aggression against Cuba.

“Canada must stand with the Cuban people and resist the Trump administration’s aggression clearly and directly. This is a decisive test of principle and we must not fail it,” he said.

– with files from The Canadian Press

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