Since this Monday, Cubana de Aviación has the Tupolev TU-204/CU-T1702 aircraft. The Russian-made aircraft, with capacity for 212 passengers, spent four years in Ulyanovsk, Russia, where it underwent maintenance classified as “capital repairs.” The Cuban Aviation Importing Company spread the news on Facebook, accompanied by pictures of the ship, with the message “Home now! Congratulations!” Bernardo Espinosa, a user who shared another photo on the social network, stated that IL 96-300 is also included.
The maintenance of the Tupolev TU-204/CU-T1702 is part of the agreement signed by Havana and the Kremlin in 2019 to restore the airworthiness of Cubana de Aviación’s fleet of Russian and Ukrainian aircraft. The aircraft in need of urgent maintenance included five Ilyushin Il-96-300s, three Tupolev Tu-204s and six Antonov An-158s, which were delivered to the state-owned airline between 2005 and 2015.
The recovery of two planes is hardly a relief for Cubana de Aviación, which is in crisis. The airline has struggled since 2019 to “meet aircraft leasing obligations and repay previously borrowed loans to renew ground infrastructure, as revenue fell following the May 2018 crash of a Boeing 737-200 leased to Global Air, causing 112 deaths,” as stated by the AIN portal.
Despite the difficulties, the Cuban airline announced new routes in October 2021, but the Ministry of Transport said that its domestic flights would continue to be canceled due to the poor condition of the aircraft. The newspaper El Debate revealed that Plus Ultra, the Spanish-Venezuelan company that bailed out the Spanish government despite barely having passengers and reporting losses since 2015, operated flights to Europe with the code Cubana de Aviación.
The airline has been struggling since 2019 to “meet aircraft leasing obligations and repay previously taken loans to renew ground infrastructure in the face of declining revenue.”
Among these flights, the same Spanish newspaper referred to the EC-MQM aircraft, an Airbus 340 that covered the route between Madrid and Santiago de Cuba and Havana. In addition to a flight between Havana and Libreville, the capital of Gabon, the island transported at least 100 Cuban health workers.
The aircraft with the registration EC-NFQ was already flying on the Havana-Frankfurt route before the Covid-19 pandemic was declared. “Cubana is experiencing serious difficulties purchasing new aircraft for its fleet or obtaining spare parts for the aircraft in service,” the Spanish newspaper said.
In January 2022, direct aid from Spain worth 200,000 euros was provided to the Cubana de Aviación branch.
In July this year, the island’s state airline reported the recovery plan for two of 15 aircraft stopped due to failures, including six Antonov An-158-200s, four Ilyushin Il-96-300s and three Tupolev Tu-204s. There are currently only two ATR 72-500s in use. To maintain minimum service, the company had to lease an Airbus A340-300, an A340-600 and an ATR 42-500.
The trips made by the Cuban ruler since November 2022 were carried out on a plane belonging to the Venezuelan airline Conviasa, registration YV3535, made available to him by the government of Nicolás Maduro. In 2023, Miguel Díaz-Canel has made around 12 trips. The last flight to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly was on an Airbus of the Spanish airline Plus Ultra, as Conviasa is sanctioned.
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