The state-owned airline Cubana de Aviación has recovered one of its four Tupolev Tu-204 jets. The single-aisle aircraft had been undergoing maintenance in Russia since 2019 and was sent days ago to Havana, the capital of the Caribbean country.
The jet with registration number CU-T1702 had been delivered by Ilyushin Financing Co. on a leasing basis along with another identical model, registration number CU-T1701, in 2007.
Both flew until 2016 when they were removed from service, reportedly due to a lack of spare parts. Cubana managed to put the Tu-204 CU-T1702 in flying condition in July 2019, the jet arrived in Ulyanovsk, where it was manufactured.
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Since then, the 186-seat aircraft has undergone heavy maintenance that appears to have been completed only in September, when the Tupolev returned to carry out check flights.
On September 17, the Tu-204 took off towards Reykjavik, Iceland, for a technical stopover, heading to Gander, Canada, for further refueling, until arriving in Havana the following day.
The aircraft was seen sporting a new Cubana paint scheme with a blue hue on the belly of the jet.
Cubana Airlines, Tupolev Tu-204 #GanderAirport #AlliedAviation #Cubana pic.twitter.com/CYtlchJWGA
— Dion Faulkner (@Deltafox007) September 18, 2023
It is not yet clear what Cubana’s plans are for the recovered jet, but given the absence of aircraft in flying condition – there is only one active ATR, according to Planespotters – it is to be expected that the Tu-204 will soon be put into service shortly.
Cubana also has two Tu-204 freighters, received in the late 2000s and which have been out of service for several years.
![](https://www.airdatanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/tu-204-cargo-cub-960x640.jpg)
Back to the assembly line
The Tu-204 is a single-aisle jet with capacity for up to 210 passengers powered by old PS-90 turbofans and has been in production since 1990 in small quantities.
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The Tu-214 variant, produced by Aviastar, was once again in the plans of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) following Western trade sanctions caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
![](https://www.airdatanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/tu-214-960x640.jpg)
Under the plan, several Russian airlines ordered the aircraft to fill the gap opened by the ban on imports of Airbus and Boeing jets.