Southwest Airlines (WN, Dallas Love Field) has become the latest US carrier to cut back on its Cuban services following Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Silver Airways all of which have withdrawn from the market citing insufficient loads.

In a statement issued this week, the Texan LCC said it would terminate existing services to Varadero and Santa Clara de Cuba with effect from September 4. Thereafter, it will consolidate its Cuban operations around Havana International which it currently serves 2x daily from Fort Lauderdale International and 1x daily from Tampa International. Given the strong performance seen on its Havana route, it has applied to the US Department of Transportation for a third daily roundtrip frequency between Ft. Lauderdale and Havana.

"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," Southwest Airlines' Senior Vice President (Ground Operations) Steve Goldberg, said.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump tightened restrictions on Americans traveling to Cuba while clamping down on US firms doing business with the Cuban military.