Russian airlines cancel their flights to Cuba due to sanctions for invasion of Ukraine

The russian airlines Aeroflot and Azur Air have temporarily canceled their flights to Cuba because of the sanctions applied to Russia for invading Ukrainewhich will affect the island’s economy, according to experts.

The companies have made that decision after most European countries closed their airspace to them and Russia, in response, did the same with the airlines of those nations.

On the website of the state-owned Aeroflot, there are no available flights to Havana and Varadero, the island’s main vacation destination, until March 29.

In the case of Azur Air, the company clarified in a statement that for the moment it will only charter flights to repatriate tourists who need to return from Latin America to their countries of origin.

“Tourists will return in a planned manner, according to the dates indicated on their tickets,” the company said.

According to a statement from the Association of Russian Tour Operators (Atorus), between 6,000 and 8,000 Russian tourists are currently in Cuba.

economic repercussions

The suspension of the flow of Russian tourists to the island is going to affect the Cuban economy, which is dependent on international tourism and especially Russia, which has become its first source market for tourists during the pandemic.

Carmelo Mesa-Lago, professor emeritus of economics and Latin American studies at the University of Pittsburgh, said that it is “difficult to estimate at this time,” but he was convinced of the repercussions.

“Where the blow will be most noticeable is in tourism,” said the economist, who also pointed out the country’s need to “urgently earn foreign currency.”

However, he estimated damage to the Cuban economy as a whole: “The sanctions against Russia are clearly going to harm Cuba because bilateral trade is important.”

“Since the Trump era, restrictions have been increased in the banking system to negotiate with Cuba and it is known that it was already triangulating in some way with Russia, but that is going to end,” Mesa-Lago said.

It was anticipated by the special adviser to the president of the United States for the Western Hemisphere, Juan González, who warned of the indirect consequences for some Latin American countries of the sanctions against Moscow for the war in Ukraine.

In statements to the Voice of America (VOA) he pointed out that the sanctions would have “an impact on those governments that have economic affiliations with Russia,” referring, among others, to Cuba.

tourism figures

Last year there were 146,151 Russians who traveled to Cuba and also accounted for 25% of the total number of visitors from abroad.

In 2020, with the pandemic, there were 74,019, but in 2019 they had risen to 178,000.

The suspension of flights comes when the sector was gradually recovering, after the eight-month break in 2021 due to the pandemic.

The sector, the second largest foreign exchange contributor to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), fell 67% in 2021, according to the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI).

According to official figures, a total of 573,944 international travelers visited Cuba in 2021, 60% less than the previous year and far from the between four million and five million annual tourists in the years prior to the pandemic.

Last November, with the improvement of the epidemiological situation, Cuba reopened its borders and air routes from Europe, North America and Latin America began to recover.

The Ministry of Economy and Planning estimates that this year some 2.5 million international visitors could visit the island, who could contribute some US$1,159 million (1,012 million euros) to the Cuban economy.

The state tourism sector expects to end this year with 84,906 hotel rooms, 5.7% more than the previous year, despite the pandemic. Cuba is going through a serious economic crisis due to COVID-19, the tightening of US economic sanctions and national management errors.