Alaska Airlines (AS, Seattle Tacoma International) has joined the growing list of US carriers withdrawing from the Cuban market citing a lack of demand as well as recent changes in rules governing the condition under which US citizens can visit Cuba.

In a statement, Alaska Airlines said it will end its daily Los Angeles International-Havana International service on January 22. adding that the B737-800 used would be redeployed to markets with higher demand.

"About 80% of Alaska's flyers to Havana visited under a U.S. allowance for individual 'people-to-people' educational travel," it said. "Changes to U.S. policy last week eliminated that allowance. Given the changes in Cuba travel policies, the airline will redeploy these resources to other markets the airline serves where demand continues to be strong."

Alaska started its Los Angeles-Havana flight on January 5, 2017.

Other airlines that have withdrawn from the market include Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Silver Airways, and Sun Country Airlines (not commenced). FedEx Express has had to seek repeated deferrals for its services citing difficulties in negotiating the Cuban bureaucracy among other reasons.