Havana/In front of optimism shown just a few days ago, when he expressed that the situation in Cuba would allow him to continue with his activities, Constantino Pinto, commercial director of the Ávoris Group’s tourism operation in Portugal, now announces the cancellation of all Travelplan operations from that country to the Island. In an interview with the local media Turisverreported that “serious supply problems, mainly in fuel” are the reason for its decision.
Pinto pointed out that not only is there no jet fuel for the planes, “which would force us to have a triangulation maneuver on the return trip,” but he highlighted another big problem, the movement of tourists. “Each of our planes that arrives needs at least 10 buses for transfers, and if there is a fuel shortage, we would run the risk of having problems from one moment to the next,” he indicated.
“We cannot subject our clients to unnecessary risks, and initially we canceled the first three departures to Cayo Santa María, but since then we have decided to cancel the rest of the operation,” added the director of Ávoris, the travel division of the Barceló Groupwhich has two hotels in Varadero.
“We cannot subject our clients to unnecessary risks”
With this decision, flights scheduled for Saturdays to Varadero will be redirected to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, from the end of May and, starting in June, the one that was supposed to connect with Cayo Santa María will go to Cancún, Quintana Roo, in Mexico.
The measure will take a few months, so that passengers who had contracted those flights “have the option of booking to these destinations. We canceled well in advance and for a perfectly justifiable reason, but we will give them the opportunity to book other destinations, just as we did with the three dates that we initially canceled,” added Pinto.
This announcement comes amid a wave of flight cancellations by various airlines, particularly those of Canadathe main source of travelers to the Island, which last year fed the tourism coffers with 754,010 visitors, almost half of the total, 1,810,663far from the 1.9 million predicted in Parliament in mid-December and, even worse, when compared to what was planned a year ago. The forecast then was 2.6 million, 30.3% more than what was finally achieved.
Last year alone, Mexico received 47.78 million international tourists, an annual increase of 6.1%
In addition, it will benefit tourism that is booming in the two countries that will now be the destination of Travelplan flights. Last year alone, Mexico received 47.78 million international tourists, an annual increase of 6.1% in the country, the sixth most visited in the world, according to figures from the Mexican National Institute of Statistics and Geography.
The same thing happens in the Dominican Republic, which received 11.6 million visitors in 2025, a record figure for the country’s tourism, which has one of its main sources of foreign currency in this sector.
Until now there were no plans for Travelplan to extend this measure to flights from Madrid. Neither on its website nor in the news disseminated by the organization pointed in this direction, although logic indicates that the same should happen with Spanish flights at some point.
“Cuba has everything to be a great destination; we would like to see its tourism take off, which unfortunately is not happening”
The company’s position contrasts with what was published in the Mallorca Diary Just last February 12, when the group indicated that the company was continuing its activity “with complete normality”, although a year ago one of its directors, Simón Pedro Barceló, showed his displeasure because tourism in Cuba was not improving. “Cuba has everything to be a great destination; we would like to see its tourism take off, which unfortunately is not happening,” he stated in an interview in March 2025 with the same Majorcan newspaper, when the drama had not yet manifested itself in all its splendor on the Island.
The crisis has also caused governments in America and Europe to launch warnings to their potential travelers or have called on their compatriots to leave the Island. This Monday, for example, Costa Rica issued an urgent directive for its citizens to leave Cuba, also recommending the suspension of all non-essential trips to the country. This request responds “to the worsening shortage of fuel, electricity and basic products, such as food, water and medicines in Cuba.”
