American filed a motion with the Department of Transportation on Friday, requesting an expansion of its previously granted temporary dormancy waiver for certain U.S.-Cuba flights during the summer 2025 season.
The carrier cited “deeper challenges to the rebound of U.S.-Cuba passenger demand” as the primary reason for seeking these route cuts. The request specifically targets Miami-Havana and Miami-Santiago de Cuba routes, while maintaining the relief already granted for other U.S.-Cuba destinations.
“In light of these ongoing challenges and for the purpose of more efficiently deploying its scarce aircraft, American seeks to supplement the temporary suspension of a limited number of its U.S.–Cuba services for the remainder of the summer 2025 season,” the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier said.
This week, President Trump issued a sweeping travel ban, which included some restrictions on travel between the U.S. and Cuba.
American’s motion seeks to modify its existing waiver, which the DOT approved on March 21, to include up to three of its eight daily Miami-Havana roundtrips on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, as well as four of its eight daily Miami-Havana roundtrips on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Market Exit
The airline also requests to suspend its daily Miami-Santiago de Cuba flights on all days of the week. If approved by the agency, American will complete exit this airport, leaving it with no non-stop U.S. service.
The previous waiver already covered specific frequencies for American’s services to Camaguey, Holguin, Matanzas/Varadero, and Santa Clara, which remain unchanged in the new request.
In its filing, American argued that the requested relief is “narrowly tailored, limited to the remainder of the summer 2025 season” and would enable the airline to “better align its capacity and services with market conditions.” The carrier emphasized that the waiver would provide operational flexibility to resume services sooner should market conditions improve.
The DOT has not yet issued a decision on American’s request.
