Cuba overflight question

[Flobadob]

Have flown a couple of times to Jamaica from the UK and noticed that the British airlines tend to avoid overflying Cuba,opting to route via the Dom Rep or Haiti. Is there a problem with Cuba or is this just to pick up/come off the NAT track?

[NZLeardriver]

You have to buy an overflight permit and mention the number when you file you flight plan. I think they cost a few hundred dollars. Pretty easy to get, just sometimes take a bit of time. They will turn you back if you dont have one.

[Hunter58]

What airway would they be flying over cuba then? Somehow my charts only show the ones that make a more north-south and when coming form the east you would likely prefer a east-westery routing, no? Somehow there is no Airway doing Providenciales-Sangster...

[flufdriver]

As far as I know, BA 's Gatwick - Nassau - Grand Cayman flight (B-767) is routing from Nassau via UG437 to UCA (Ciego de Avila, Cuba) then UB767 to GCM.

[3holer]

I've been flying from GIG and GRU to MIA longer than I can remember. In the old days (707 and DC10's era) we would go via Haiti and Great Inagua direct to MIA avoiding cuba airspace all the way and I can, even today, remember the boldface warnings in the Jeppesens stating that "Aircraft flying inadvertently in cuban airspace can be shootdown". That meant weather deviations were strictly done to the north/northeast and with the prevailing CBs activities in the region one could go through some nasty and interesting conditions. Nowadays (MD11/B777) we fly direct over the island and they seem to provide good ATC and all. We can even see our colleagues from the US transiting the area without any problem. But I don't really know if company pays more to overfly it.

[Panama Jack]

"Aircraft flying inadvertently in cuban airspace can be shootdown".


Sadly, those type of warnings seem to be more prevalent than ever in various parts of the world-- including the United States. :ooh:

[Hunter58]

Fluf

yes, but that one hits Nassau first, so it takes the shortest route. If you fly non-stop to Jamaica you would usually tend not to use the Tracks at all and fly more to the south, making 'landfall' over the DomRep. Between Nassau and Providenciales there are not really any possibilities to fly to Jamaica, unless you want to upset the Cubans, that is.

[Flobadob]

Or to avoid the non stop hurricane service at this time of year!