54°F
weather icon Partly Cloudy

Southwest Airlines to scale back flights to Cuba

Southwest Airlines Co. on Wednesday it would reduce the number of flights to Cuba, joining other U.S. airlines, as President Donald Trump’s Cuba policy continues to restrict Americans traveling to the country.

The airline, by far the busiest carrier at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, will stop flying to Varadero and Santa Clara in Cuba on Sept. 4 and has applied with the U.S. Department of Transportation for another daily round trip between Ft. Lauderdale and Havana.

Southwest currently flies to Havana twice daily from Ft. Lauderdale and once daily from Tampa.

“There is not a clear path to sustainability serving these markets, particularly with the continuing prohibition in U.S. law on tourism to Cuba for American citizens,” Southwest Airlines said in a statement.

Trump earlier this month ordered tighter restrictions on Americans traveling to Cuba and a clamp down on U.S. business dealings with the Caribbean island’s military, saying he was canceling former President Barack Obama’s “terrible and misguided deal” with Havana.

Some carriers such as Spirit Airlines Inc., Frontier Airlines, Silver Airways have already pulled out while larger U.S. carriers have pared back flights to smaller Cuban cities.

American Airlines Group Inc said in December it would trim its flights to Cuba this year.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST