Russia will evacuate tourists from Cuba and suspend air operations due to fuel crisis

FILE PHOTO. An Aeroflot plane for flight SU150 Moscow-Havana is seen as a taxi exits a parking lot at José Martí International Airport in Havana, Cuba, June 24, 2013. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan · Reuters

Reuters

Thu, February 12, 2026, 2:02 a.m. GMT+9 1 min read

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MOSCOW, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Russia plans to evacuate its tourists from Cuba in the coming days and then suspend all flights until the aircraft fuel shortage is resolved, said the aviation regulator Rosaviatsia on Wednesday.

According to the authority, Rossiya, part of the Aeroflot group, and Severny Veter (Nordwind) will only operate passenger flights to repatriate tourists from Cuba. Both airlines announced in statements that this measure will take effect on Thursday.

The U.S. government under President Donald Trump declared Cuba “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security and stated that the communist-governed island will no longer receive oil from Venezuela.

Washington has threatened to impose tariffs on other suppliers, such as Mexico, if they continue to send fuel to the island.

Cuba itself warned international airlines that starting Tuesday, there would be no available aircraft fuel in the country.

The Russian Ministry of Economy advised tourists on Wednesday to suspend all trips to Cuba until the situation normalizes and urged Russian tour operators not to make sales.

(Reuters report; written by Anastasia Teterevleva; Spanish edition by Javier López de Lérida)

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