Aeroflot Resumes Flights to Cuba

Russian Airlines, part of the Aeroflot group, resumed regular flights to Cuba on Saturday, which had been suspended since Western countries closed their airspace to Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. Aeroflot stated that "the first flight took off from Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow today, heading to the Cuban resort of Varadero. Initially, two flights will be operated weekly." The Deputy Prime Minister for Tourism, Sports, Culture, and Communications, Dmitry Chernyshenko, had indicated in May that "regular flights to Cuba, which will avoid the airspace of unfriendly countries, would resume by July." Russian airlines suspended their flights to Cuba, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic on February 28 of last year, four days after the invasion that Russia describes as a "special military operation."