After Air Canada, Air Transat, and WestJet announced that they were suspending flights to Cuba due to a shortage of aviation fuel on the island, mainly because of the Trump administration’s strict measures and threats to impose tariffs on any country supplying oil to Cuba, Air Transat decided to suspend its flights to the United States for the summer.
The Quebec-based airline suspended its flights to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, its only two destinations in the U.S., for the 2026 summer season. For Air Transat, this is a fairly marginal presence on American soil, representing only 1% of the carrier’s average seat-kilometer capacity for the summer. According to the company’s spokesperson, Air Transat is focusing its efforts where it is best positioned. Furthermore, it should not be overlooked that the number of flights between Canada and the United States decreased by 14% in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to the same quarter in 2024, according to aviation firm Cirium. This decrease is mainly attributed to political tensions and trade policies associated with Trump’s second term.
The president’s popularity is also in limbo among the American population, having reached a 36% approval rating. This is Trump’s popularity rating from an Associated Press/NORC poll conducted from February 5 to 8, 2026, the latest of the public polls considered most credible according to USA Today. This rating is in line with those measured by other reputable polling institutes, notably 37% in the Quinnipiac University poll conducted from January 29 to February 2, 2026, and 36% in the Gallup poll conducted from December 1 to 15, 2025. If this level of support continues, it would be the lowest level recorded by a president at midterm in seven decades, a warning sign for the Republican Party. It should be remembered that during Trump’s first term, when his approval rating was 41%, Republicans lost 40 seats in Congress.
This is enough to keep Trump on tenterhooks as he seeks to pass a law requiring Americans to prove their U.S. citizenship when registering to vote, to have valid photo ID to vote, and to present additional documents to verify the identity of people who have changed their names (e.g., after marriage). After being approved by the House of Representatives, the bill is currently pending in the Senate.
