Cuban Ambassador to China Alberto Blanco Silva announced via social media on April 10th that he had a “fruitful meeting” with Song Zhiyong, Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) administrator, in Beijing the same day. The meeting resulted in the resumption of scheduled commercial flights between China and Cuba on May 17th.
On April 23rd, Air China held a press conference in Beijing regarding the new and resumed international flight routes for 2024, confirming the announcement. According to Air China, the airline will resume flights from Beijing to Havana on May 17th. This route will be the sole air link between China and Cuba, and Air China plans to operate it using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, with two weekly flights.
Notably, Air China has selected Madrid, Spain, as the stopover point for this resumption of service to Cuba. In contrast, when Air China first launched the Beijing-Havana route in 2015, the stopover point was Montreal, Canada. This change signifies that Chinese tourists traveling to Cuba will no longer face any visa restrictions. Previously, although Cuba granted a visa-free policy for Chinese citizens, Chinese travelers still encountered barriers due to the requirement of a Canadian transit visa for layovers in Canada. With the new stopover point in Madrid, Chinese travelers do not need to apply for a Schengen visa if they are only transiting. Consequently, the revised stopover point enables Chinese tourists to enjoy hassle-free travel to Cuba.
However, the selection of a new stopover point also presents drawbacks. Compared to the total flight distance with a layover in Montreal (8,133 nautical miles), the new route with a layover in Madrid will increase the total flight distance by 27.6% (10,378 nautical miles).
In November 2023, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero visited China and met with top Chinese leadership during his trip, underscoring the close relationship between the two nations. During his visit, Marrero took the rare step of presenting Cuba’s tourism resources and investment opportunities to the Chinese public at a tourism promotion forum held at the Cuban Embassy in China. At the forum, the Cuban Prime Minister mentioned the impending resumption of direct flights between China and Cuba in 2024, expressing his anticipation for the resumption. He stated, “If it were up to me, I would love to take a direct flight to Havana from China tomorrow.” Marrero also conveyed his hope for a record-breaking number of Chinese tourists visiting Cuba after the flights resume. The current record stands at approximately 50,000 visitors in 2018.
As another friendly country to Cuba, Russia’s Rossiya Airlines will also resume flights to the island nation, starting from its Moscow Sheremetyevo base on December 24, 2023, using Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft.
