Spanish company Plus Ultra suspends Madrid flight with Cubana de Aviación due to fears of US sanctions.

• Cubana de Aviación has canceled its only flight between Cuba and Spain since Tuesday, May 12, following Plus Ultra's withdrawal due to Washington's executive order.
•  Eleven airlines have suspended flights to Cuba in 2026, with over 1,700 flights canceled, leaving only eight companies operating routes to the island.
• The sanctions are against entities linked to the Cuban state apparatus and includes financial pressure on foreign companies that maintain business with sanctioned organizations within the island.
• The cancellation comes at an already complex time. Since the beginning of 2026, Cubana de Aviación had been facing operational difficulties stemming from fuel shortages and limited aircraft availability.

Cubana de Aviación will cancel its only direct connection between Cuba and Spain starting this Tuesday, May 12, after the Spanish company Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas decided to withdraw from the operation following new sanctions announced by the United States.

The state airline itself announced this, without mentioning the Spanish company, in a statement sent to tour operators after Plus Ultra, the company that leased the aircraft and crew, canceled its services.

“The operator contracted to carry out its flights has communicated the immediate cancellation of flights CU471/CU470 on the Madrid-Santiago de Cuba-Havana-Santiago de Cuba-Madrid route,” the document says, without giving the name of the “contracted operator” in question, which is none other than Plus Ultra.

The suspension affects the Madrid-Santiago de Cuba-Havana route, considered one of the last stable transatlantic connections maintained by the Cuban airline, according to information sent to travel agencies, tour operators and customers.

• The scenario would have led Plus Ultra to immediately abandon the operation it maintained with Cubana de Aviación through ACMI contracts, a modality under which the Spanish company provided Airbus A330-200 aircraft and complete crews to cover the route.
• The situation also reflects how the tightening of US sanctions is beginning to affect not only Cuban entities, but also foreign companies that maintain operations linked to the island.
• Plus Ultra's withdrawal demonstrates the growing fear among international companies of exposing themselves to financial risks or restrictions stemming from their relationship with Cuba.
• Iberia announced in April the cancellation of its direct flights from Madrid to Havana starting in June, with a possible resumption in November "provided that conditions allow it." 

The decision leaves Cuba without one of its most important links to Europe and deepens the crisis facing the national air system.

The statement does explain the reasons for the cancellation, related to the fear of receiving sanctions from the Donald Trump Administration:

“Said operator reports that the measure responds to risks derived from the Executive Order of May 1, 2026, issued by the Presidency of the United States, constituting a force majeure event beyond the control of the company.”

Cubana de Aviación promises to refund “the cost of the tickets, in accordance with current regulations”

In its statement this Monday, Cubana de Aviación promises to refund “the cost of the tickets, in accordance with current regulations,” although the pro-government journalist Roberto A. Paneque stated on his social media that they are “waiting to receive more information from the airline regarding the procedure to follow for passengers whose flight has not yet taken place.”

The spokesperson also said they will offer "information regarding refunds for purchased tickets, as well as for passengers who have already flown a leg with the company."

In mid-February, with the fuel crisis worsening after the US intervention in Venezuela and the Trump administration's ban on supplying oil to Cuba, the state airline had to suspend one of the two weekly flights it maintained between the island and Madrid.

Less than a month ago, Iberia announced the cancellation of its direct flights between Spain and Cuba due to the drop in tourism . At the time, the airline explained that the suspension was temporary: this Monday, they confirmed to 14ymedio that it will initially cover the period from June 1st to October 24th.

Plus Ultra is thus following in the footsteps of the Canadian mining company Sherritt International, which last Thursday announced the immediate suspension of its operations in Cuba and the subsequent repatriation of its workers, attributing its decision to the same Trump executive order.

Later that same day, the U.S. State Department released a list of newly sanctioned entities within the Cuban regime, including the state-owned company Moa Nickel SA, which is precisely Sherritt's partner in the Holguín mines.

“The activities described in the lawsuit correspond only to legal trips to Cuba authorized by federal orders.”

Meanwhile, Delta Airlines has asked a US federal court to dismiss the lawsuit, filed against it last November under Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, for operating flights to Havana's José Martí International Airport, the US-Cuba Trade Council revealed on Saturday.

While the Cubana de Aviación route remains suspended, many passengers will have to resort to connections via Panama City through agreements between Iberia and Copa Airlines, which implies longer travel times and additional costs.

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