Cubana de Aviación
Cuba · CUBANA · Active
Airline Identity
History
Cubana de Aviación, founded on 8 October 1929, is one of the world's oldest continuously operating airlines and a founding member of IATA. It was nationalized as Cuba's state flag carrier following the 1959 revolution and has been wholly owned by the Cuban government since 1959. Decades of US sanctions and embargo restrictions have shaped its fleet choices, pushing it toward Soviet- and Russian-built and later other non-US aircraft types, and have periodically forced sharp contractions in its network and fleet availability.
Current Operations
Cubana de Aviación's operations remain severely constrained as of 2026 by the US trade embargo (which restricts access to US-built aircraft and parts), by fuel-supply difficulties, and by the poor serviceability of its aging fleet. Reporting in 2025 described the carrier flying scheduled service on only a small number of domestic routes plus a handful of international destinations (reportedly including Venezuela and Spain), after having dropped other international routes, including to Argentina, for lack of fuel supply. Its historically core Ilyushin Il-96 widebodies and Antonov An-158 regional jets have suffered from chronic maintenance problems, with much of the An-158 fleet reported grounded since 2018. Cubana remains the Cuban state's flag carrier and is not a member of any global airline alliance, though it holds a codeshare agreement with Hahn Air and remains an IATA member.
Last verified 2026-09-02· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.