Southwest becomes latest airline to reduce flights to Cuba

Southwest Airlines will join other U.S. carriers in reducing flights to Cuba, saying laws that restrict Americans from traveling there for tourism are constraining demand.

Southwest becomes the latest airline to accept that the industry, with little way to judge demand beforehand, was too optimistic when U.S. regulators allowed passenger routes to the island nation last year for the first time in decades.

President Donald Trump added to the woes this month by announcing restrictions that may stall U.S. business on the island. The new limits don’t affect airline operations to Cuba but may affect demand.

Southwest will drop service to Varadero and Santa Clara on Sept. 4, and continue flying to Havana daily from Tampa International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the carrier said in a statement Wednesday.

“Our decision to discontinue the other Cuba flights comes after an in-depth analysis of our performance over several months which confirmed that 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,” Steve Goldberg, Southwest’s senior vice president of ground operations, said in the statement.

Commercial flights between the U.S. and Cuba took off for the first time in 50 years in 2016 as part of a broader push by President Barack Obama’s administration to liberalize relations between the countries.

Airlines launched dozens of daily flights to Havana and smaller cities across the island, hoping to stake a claim in a new market with the potential to grow into a major tourist draw.

About 285,000 U.S. citizens traveled to Cuba in 2016, triple the amount that did so in 2014, according to the Boston Consulting Group.

The Obama-era policy made it easier for U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba but did not totally eliminate restrictions and challenges that made visiting the island unlike traveling to any other Caribbean market.

General tourism to the island is prohibited, with U.S. travelers having to visit under one of 12 official purposes, including educational, research or humanitarian.

Traveling to the island is likely to get even more difficult for U.S. citizens after Trump announced changes that will require most visitors to be part of organized tour groups.

American Airlines and JetBlue Airways previously trimmed their service to Cuba, while Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines Holdings and Silver Airways pulled out completely.

Southwest chief executive officer Gary Kelly previously had said he would give the Cuba markets a year before deciding on continuing service. The Dallas-based carrier began flights to Varadero in November and to Santa Clara in December. The airline is contacting customers holding travel reservations for those cities on Sept. 5 and beyond to offer refunds.

Southwest is seeking U.S. approval for a third daily Havana-Fort Lauderdale flight from among those given up by airlines that have left the island. American, Delta Air Lines Inc., United Continental Holdings Inc. and JetBlue also are trying to secure those routes.

This story was originally published June 28, 2017 at 2:57 PM with the headline "Southwest becomes latest airline to reduce flights to Cuba."