Aerolíneas Argentinas will stop flying to Havana (HAV), Cuba, as of March 8, a route it had relaunched in July 2022.
As part of a reorganization to streamline operations, Aerolineas Argentinas will increase its flights to Cancun (CUN) from four to five per week. Cancun has proven to be a profitable destination for the airline, maintaining occupancies above 90%. In 2023, the company carried 79,312 passengers on this route.
In July 2022, the airline inaugurated flights to Havana with a technical stopover in Punta Cana (PUJ), Dominican Republic, offering three weekly operations on Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft with capacity for 170 passengers. However, six months later, it reduced the frequency to two flights per week, and by July 2023, the route was operated only once a week, making a triangular flight with Cancun (CUN), Mexico, using an Airbus A330-200.
Travel agents indicate that Aerolíneas Argentinas is redirecting affected passengers to flights with stopovers in Bolivia, operated by Boliviana de Aviación, or allowing ticket refunds.
Argentina will maintain connectivity with Cuba
This decision leaves Cubana de Aviación as the only operator between Argentina and Cuba. The airline operates a weekly triangular flight between Havana and Cayo Coco (CCC) in an Airbus A340-300 through a wet leasing agreement with Plus Ultra Airlines. According to ANAC Argentina, the Cuban airline transported 7,555 passengers with an occupancy rate of 45%.
In addition to Cubana de Aviación’s operations, Havana (HAV) maintains its connectivity with South America in this way:
- Bogota (BOG), Colombia, five weekly flights with Wingo.
- Caracas (CCS), Venezuela, one weekly flight with ConViasa.
- Georgetown (GEO), Guyana, two weekly flights with FlyAllWays.
- Lima (LIM), Peru, five weekly flights with LATAM.
- Medellín/Rionegro (MDE), Colombia, one weekly flight with Wingo.
- Santa Cruz de la Sierra (VVI), Bolivia, one weekly flight with Boliviana de Aviación (BoA).
LATAM and Boliviana de Aviación offer connections to Havana from other destinations through their respective hubs. In addition, Copa Airlines offers 25 weekly flights to the Caribbean island.