These Airlines Operate The Most International Flights To & From Havana, Cuba

As the capital of Cuba, Havana is the country’s central commercial hub and, until the early 1960s, the number one tourist destination in the Caribbean. However, much of this tourism originated from the United States, just 90 miles away, and the US embargo imposed in 1961 slammed the door on travel to Cuba. After that, only a handful of airlines, like Cubana and Aeroflot, continued to serve the capital.

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The rise and fall of flights to Cuba

This changed dramatically in 2016 when the Obama administration loosened restrictions on Cuba. US airlines could fly to Havana and other Cuban destinations again, and US citizens could travel there as long as they met certain conditions. Nearly every US airline pounced on the opportunity and added routes to Cuba, none more so than American Airlines, which added as many as 16 daily flights to six different Cuban destinations.

Photo: American Airlines

However, the bonanza was short-lived, as the US airlines soon found that demand was not as high as predicted, and schedules were cut. The Trump administration subsequently placed heightened restrictions on Cuban flights, which saw many smaller airlines like JetBlue, Spirit, and Alaska Airlines drop Cuba altogether. While the Biden administration has thrown out the Trump-era restrictions, and some airlines like American have expanded routes to Cuba again, international services to Havana are still some way off the boom years of 2016-2018.

So which airlines will operate the most international flights to Havana this year?

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Viva Aerobus

1,228 flights

Viva Aerobus, the Mexican low-cost carrier, flies to five cities in Cuba, including Havana. Its service to Havana has an average of 13 weekly return flights, with the most heavily operated being the short 300-mile hop from Cancun which is provided as a daily service. Mexico City is served three times a week from its Santa Lucia airport, Monterrey has twice-weekly service, and Mérida has a weekly flight.

Photo: Viva Aerobus 

4

Delta Air Lines

1,402 flights

When Cuba was re-opened to US carriers, Delta Air Lines jumped into the fray with routes to Havana from its mega-hub at Atlanta (ATL) and Miami (MIA). Like numerous other US carriers, it found that demand was weaker than anticipated, and it dropped the ATL-HAV service. Then, it had to get permission from the Department of Transport to delay the return of its services from Miami after the pandemic. These services have resumed, and Delta flies a twice-daily operation from Miami using one of its long-in-the-tooth B737-800s.

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

3

Southwest Airlines

2,128 flights

Southwest used to fly to Havana from Tampa (TPA) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL), but it canceled the latter route in October last year due to low demand and a lack of profitability. This was undoubtedly influenced by the heavy competition provided by American and Delta just 25 miles away at MIA, but Southwest also stated that HAV-TPA was providing better connectivity benefits into the broader Southwest network. The route is currently flown 2-3 times daily by Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, although frequencies do increase seasonally.

Photo: Carlos Yudica | Shutterstock

2

Copa Airlines

2,551 flights

The largest non-US carrier to Havana is Copa Airlines, which flies 3-4 times daily to the Cuban capital from Panama City. This is a long-established route that used to be a primary connection in and out of Cuba even before the US carriers started flying there. It is also advantageous as Copa Airlines provides the easiest and most extensive onward connections to the rest of Latin America. The route has traditionally been flown with three daily flights utilizing B737-800s, but Copa Airlines has recently introduced its newer B737 MAX 9s on the route with a fourth flight daily four times a week.

Photo: Copa Airlines

1

American Airlines

5,346 flights

When the US resumed regular commercial flights to Cuba, American Airlines immediately had a big advantage with one of its major hubs, Miami, just a few hundred miles away from Havana. As a result, American Airlines has had the most success out of any US airline with routes to Cuba and is the number one provider of international flights to Havana, with over 5,300 flights this year alone.

Photo: Markus Mainka l Shutterstock

American operates 6-8 daily MIA-HAV flights, with flights taking off hourly in what has become essentially a shuttle service. It utilizes its A319-100 and B737-800 aircraft on the route, with a flying time of less than an hour. In addition, American also provides daily service to five other Cuban cities, making it the largest international carrier to the country as a whole.

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

Not on the list, but noteworthy

There are a few airlines that didn’t make the top 5 list but are worth noting as important carriers to Havana. They include:

• Cubana, the Cuban national carrier, flies limited (and often unreliable) international services to Caracas (CCS) and Buenos Aires (EZE).
• Turkish Airlines provides the longest direct flight to Havana at 6,183 miles, flying 4-5 times a week with a Boeing 787-9 with a seasonal service that begins in November.
• Air China is the airline that flies from the furthest away, providing a twice-weekly flight from Beijing (PEK) via Madrid using a Boeing 787-9.
• United Airlines significantly cut service to Havana by discontinuing its route from Newark (EWR) and now offers a single daily flight from Houston (IAH) using an Embraer 175.
• Wingo, the low-cost arm of Copa Airlines, flies to Havana from Bogota (BOG) and Balboa (BLB) using B737-800s.
• Air Europa (B787-8) and Iberia (A330-200) provide connections to Madrid, while other European carriers include Air France (B777-300ER) to Paris, Condor (A330-900) to Frankfurt and Edelweiss (A340-300) to Zurich.

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock