Cubana de Aviación denies ceasing operations after IATA measure

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Monday, the state-owned airline Cubana de Aviación assured that it would not cease its operations despite the measure of suspension of the BSP payment compensation mechanism in Spain applied by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

A note published on the company attributes the measure notified by IATA to “one more effect of the U.S. economic and commercial blockade” about the embargo that that country has imposed on Havana for six decades Facebook page.

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Likewise, Cubana de Aviación affirms that this IATA decision “does not mean the cessation of operations (of the airline) as some media have rushed to report.”

“The bank that carries out these compensations has stated its impossibility to continue due to the U.S. blockade,” it adds.

Cubana de Aviación maintains that this measure “does not prevent it from honoring the commitments contracted with customers” and points out that the company “adjusts its commercial strategies in the market.”

It recalled that it is a founding and active member of IATA and, as such, has formalized “its complaint” before this organization.

This IATA measure is usually applied when there is a risk of an airline going bankrupt or ceasing operations.

IATA informed through a statement sent last Thursday to travel agencies that “Cubana de Aviación no longer participates in Spain’s BSP and therefore the agency must stop issuing tickets, electronic multi-purpose documents (EMD) and refunds on behalf of this airline”.

In addition, it asked the agencies to “withdraw all amounts related to Cubana de Aviación from their upcoming payments to the BSP,” clarifying that they “should be settled directly with the suspended airline.”

Cubana de Aviación is Cuba’s official airline, is based at José Martí International Airport in Havana and operates to a small number of destinations in the Americas and Europe.

The state-owned airline connects Havana and Santiago de Cuba airports with Madrid airport. It is a direct competitor of Spanish airlines such as Wamos, World2Fly, Iberojet, Air Europa, and Iberia.