Southwest to end flights to 2 Cuba cities

DALLAS -- Southwest Airlines, pulling back on its service to Cuba, plans to end flights to two cities on the island in September after determining the routes aren't sustainable, the company said Wednesday.

Dallas-based Southwest will operate its last flights to Varadero and Santa Clara on Sept. 4. It will continue its service to Havana from Fort Lauderdale and Tampa, Fla.

Southwest joins American Airlines and JetBlue in cutting back service to Cuba, while Frontier Airlines and Silver Airways ended their Cuba flights altogether.

"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," Steve Goldberg, Southwest's senior vice president of ground operations, said in a statement.

Commercial flights between the U.S. and Cuba took off for the first time in 50 years in 2016 as part of a broader push by the Obama administration to liberalize relations between the two countries.

Upcoming Events