An24 ferry from Cuba to Kiev

[WHBM]

Apparently the Cubana Antonov 24 fleet, in use for many years, all need to be returned to the Antonov plant at Kiev periodically for heavy overhaul.

Would be interested to find out what routing they use. Presumably in Cold War days they had to keep clear of US airspace - or did they ? Must have been a lot of experience built up over many years.

Predecessors the Ilyushin 14, a 40-seat piston aircraft rather like a Convair 240, were shipped as deck cargo by sea with the wings off, both to Cuba and to the Soviet bases in Antarctica, but presumably for the An24 this was impractical.

[treadigraph]

Saw (and heard on the radio) them twice in the 1980s en route Woodley-Biggin-Dover at altitude and I believe they were ex-Shannon, but I presume they hadn't got there in one go from Havana.

I remember that four or five Aeroflot An-24s or An-26s passed through Gatwick one winter's day in the 1970s, going the other way on delivery... One was stuck there for a bit with a tech problem.

[India Four Two]

Would be interested to find out what routing they use. Presumably in Cold War days they had to keep clear of US airspace - or did they ?

In 2000 or 2001, I flew into Hanoi while Fidel Castro was on a state visit to Vietnam and saw his very shiny Il-62 at Noi Bai airport. A day later while transiting through Vancouver BC, I saw the same aircraft on the ground there. Although this is not far off the great circle track, I imagine with this particular VIP on board, they would have routed across Canada to the east coast and then over the Atlantic, well clear of US airspace.

[Liffy 1M]

Shannon was almost invariably used by Cubana's fleet when going to/from the USSR for maintenance, as well as when a technical stop was required by commercial flights. Cubana types which have stopped there over the years include An-24, An-26, Il-18, Il-62, Il-76, Tu-154, Yak-40, Yak-42 and the good old Bristol Britannia. As a rule I think these flights also transit(ed) Gander and if necessary Reykjavik or Keflavik where the aircraft's endurance was insufficient for a non-stop Atlantic crossing.