Air Canada's route map is shrinking in a few places. Schedule data shows the country's biggest international airline has dropped Mumbai and, in a move with much bigger knock-on effects for holidaymakers, cancelled every one of its Cuba routes for 2026.
The Mumbai exit is the headline long-haul change. Air Canada flew Toronto to Mumbai from mid-2017 until March 2026, and nothing is on the schedule going forward. The problem is geography: with Russian airspace off-limits since the war in Ukraine began, the nonstop routing became expensive and inefficient. The airline tried workarounds, including a stop at London Heathrow with fifth-freedom rights in two recent winters, but that meant four weekly Boeing 787-9 departures instead of daily nonstops. Air India now steps into the gap, launching its own Toronto-Mumbai service in October 2026. Meanwhile, Air Canada's Dubai flights (run with Emirates) are merely suspended and return next year.
Cuba is the bigger deal for Canadian sun-seekers. By February 2026, Air Canada had ended all flights to Varadero, Cayo Coco, Holguín and Santa Clara from Toronto and Montréal, mirroring moves by WestJet and Air Transat. The trigger wasn't competition — it was conditions on the ground: repeated nationwide power outages, fuel shortages, food scarcity and transport disruptions made the island a difficult sell. No return date has been set.
Those Cuba capacity didn't vanish; it moved. Air Canada's departures to Mexico are running 11% above the previous record, and the Dominican Republic is up 25%. Smaller Caribbean markets are booming off a low base — St. Maarten up 73%, the Cayman Islands 55%, the Bahamas 41% and Aruba 37%. Anyone who normally books a Varadero package may find better availability and prices in Punta Cana, Cancún or the Antilles this winter.
There's also a quieter casualty from 2025: Algiers. Air Canada served the Algerian capital on and off from 2017, largely carrying friends and relatives between Quebec and Algeria — by its own reckoning one of its lowest-yielding long-haul routes. A planned 2026 return was pushed to 2027 over fuel costs, then scrapped. Air Algérie keeps the route to itself now, and Air Canada's African network has halved.
One more bit of context: while specific routes were cut, Air Canada still plans an average of 266 daily international departures in 2026, with bigger planes — an average 171 seats per flight versus 141 in 2018 — making up much of the difference.
For travellers, the practical takeaway is simple: Cuba is off Air Canada's map indefinitely, so check alternatives or rival carriers before assuming your usual resort is reachable. Mumbai flyers should look to Air India's new nonstop. And if your winter plans involved the Caribbean or Mexico, expect Air Canada to be flying there more often than ever.
Simple Flying
