Havana/One of the five Ilyushin Il-96-300s of the Cubana de Aviación flotilla that required “urgent maintenance,” according to Russian specialists, took to the air again. According to the platform FlightRadar24the Cuban state airline has restored the Russian-made aircraft, with registration CU-T1250, which completed a multi-leg connecting flight from Belarus to Havana between October 11 and 12.
The journey began in Minsk. The flight made stops in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and Reykjavik, Iceland, before crossing the Atlantic, in almost nine hours to the Island. Flight CU1250 landed at José Martí International Airport at 6:48 p.m. local time on October 12.
According to the site Air Data Newsthe wide-body aircraft, with serial number 74393202015, initially delivered to Cubana in December 2005, was stored in Havana and later in Belarus for “long periods, between 2022 and 2025.”
The launch of the Il-96-300, with capacity for 262 passengers, is just a palliative for the problems faced by the state company, which has a minimal and aging fleet, with only two own aircraftaccording to the directors of Cubana de Aviación, in January of this year.
The launch of the Il-96-300, with capacity for 262 passengers, is just a palliative for the problems faced by the state company
In addition, the aircraft model, a second-hand Russian aircraft manufactured around 1992, is equipped with four PS-90 turbofans that consume a lot of fuel – something the country lacks – and reduce its range, which is only 10,000 kilometers.
The maintenance carried out is part of the agreement that Havana and the Kremlin signed in 2019 to “restore the airworthiness” of Cubana de Aviación’s fleet of Russian and Ukrainian aircraft. Among the aircraft requiring urgent maintenance were four other aircraft Ilyushin Il-96-300three Tupolev Tu-204 and six Antonov An-158, which were supplied to the state airline between 2005 and 2015. To date there is no news about the status of these airplanes.
This plane could be the aircraft that there had been no news about since January, which was “almost ready” to fly again
This plane could be the aircraft that had not been reported since January, which was “almost ready” to fly again. According to Joel Archer Santos, president of the Cuban Aviation Corporation (Cacsa), in an interview with the head of Transportation, Eduardo Rodríguez Ávila, at the beginning of this year, there was “a plane ready for a long time, completely remodeled, with conditions and engine,” but that was missing “one piece.” However, the official did not specify the model of the aircraft or a tentative date to put it into operation once again.
Despite the russian aid In repairs, times and availability of materials have been delayed due to the conflict that Moscow is experiencing with Ukraine. Russia has prioritized its flights and delivery times for new parts are ranging between 180 and 360 days, while repaired ones take between 90 and 120.
Due to the critical conditions of its fleet, Cubana de Aviación has resorted to renting ships. However, since 2019 it has had difficulties repaying loans and paying the lease due to the decrease in its income after the accident that occurred in 2018, when the plane covering the Havana-Holguín route, leased to the Mexican company Global Air, crashed. 112 people died in the accident and only one passenger survived.
