This Sunday he landed in theJosé Martí International Airport the aeronave IL 96 300 ofCuban Aviation after receiving comprehensive maintenance in Russia that took more than a year.
"Russian and Cuban manufacturers, experts and specialists carried out the work for 14 months, in areas of safety systems, air navigation and general comfort, with modifications that increase the quality of services on board," detailed a brief note published byCubadebate noting the arrival.
On social networks, as happened in September with the arrival of the first Cubana plane rehabilitated in Russia, the arrival has been received as an event.
"Our long-range aircraft IL96300 is about to enter Cuban airspace," Cubana de Aviación commented with excitement on Facebook.
"Our beautiful IL 96-300 aircraft returns to the Homeland after a comprehensive repair process that will allow its incorporation into the route schedule of our flagship line, Cubana de Aviación"For its part, the Cuban Aviation Corporation S.A. wrote on social networks.
"Like new, the IL 96 is back"said official journalist Lázaro Manuel Alonso, who also echoed the arrival.
"At the last minute. 'El Gordito' arrived", wrote a user of the group in the Facebook group Lovers of Cuban Aviation.
As usual, the aircraft was received with the traditional jets of water with which planes are usually baptized on their inaugural routes, as a symbol of prosperity and good luck.
Last March, the Cubana de Aviación airline reported thatBefore the end of this year it would have recovered three aircraft from its fleet, two long-range and one medium-range.
On September 18, the Tupolev TU-204E type aircraft, which had been out of service for seven years and four of them in Russia, also became the object of a triumphant reception at Havana Airport.
"Cubana de Aviación celebrates this beginning and continues to grow big! Welcome back to the Homeland of all Cubans!", the airline celebrated on that occasion.
On November 3, the first of the aircraft returned from Russia made its first domestic flight on the Havana-Santiago de Cuba route.
At the end of last month Cubana de Aviación announced thestart of online ticket sales. The new sales modality includes the possibility of making payments both in cash and through transfers.
Agreement with Russia
In 2019 the Russian government agreed to restore the airworthiness of Cubana de Aviación's fleet of Russian and Ukrainian aircraft and opened a local maintenance and repair center to support the airline.
The Kremlin and Havana signed a contract after the visit to the island of Yuri Borisov, the then deputy prime minister responsible for Russia's military-industrial complex. Both governments reached an agreement that allowed heavy maintenance (called Check-D and Check-C) to be carried out on Russian-made aircraft in their country of origin.
Before closing the contract, Russian specialists evaluated the condition of five Ilyushin Il-96-300, three Tupolev TU-204 and six Antonov AN-158, supplied to Cubana between 2005 and 2015.
From that review came a comprehensive plan to put them back into operation, which specified the work to be done and the necessary spare parts. At that time theAIN He specified that Moscow provided "most of the financing under sovereign guarantees to Cuba."
When the Tupolevs were out of service, Cubana de Aviación resorted to a wet-leasing contract with Avion Express to use Airbus A320s for a short period. However, due to economic restrictions that made it difficult to acquire dollars, that contract was canceled.
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