JetBlue Will Trim Its Service to Cuba

Citing new travel restrictions to Cuba imposed by the Trump administration, JetBlue Airways said it will cut back its flights to Havana starting at the end of April.

Instead of flying daily from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Havana’s Jose Marti International, JetBlue will now fly once a week on Saturdays.

Daily flights from JFK will end on April 28; weekly Saturday flights will begin on May 2. JetBlue will continue its three daily flights to Havana from Fort Lauderdale.

“Nearly three-and-a-half years after becoming the first airline to operate commercial service between the U.S. and Cuba in more than 50 years, JetBlue remains committed to serving Cuba via Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport,” the airline said. “At the same time, changes to the regulatory landscape have affected travel trends to the island.”

The Trump administration has banned commercial flights to Cuba other than to Jose Marti International in Havana, has banned all cruises to the island emanating from the U.S., eliminated the ‘people-to-people’ aspect of acceptable reasons to visit the island, and banned U.S. citizens from doing business with any entity with ties to the Cuban military.

JetBlue will also leave its gates at Oakland International Airport on April 29, though it will remain in the Bay Area at both San Francisco International and San Jose International.

At the same time, the airline is adding daily flights to Guatemala City from New York JFK beginning June 1, as well as new routes to Nashville and Missoula, Mont. From New York and to Missoula from Boston.