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In the hectic phase of the summer vacation in Cuba a long line of people wait for hours under the suffocating heat of the airline's office Cubana de Aviación more eager to visit their relatives in the provinces.
They do not wait to book their flights, but they do so to recover their money from plane tickets or exchange them for bus tickets as an alternative travel to the island of Caribbean.
Cubana de Aviación who has a monopoly on domestic flights, has suspended most of his travels because of lack of planes, generating chaos and highlighting the problems of what was once the only time. avant-garde of Latin American aviation.
Cancellations of flights took place a month after a plane hired by Cubana de Aviación crashed after taking off from Havana airport in May , with the death of 112 passengers between the passengers and the crew.
The decision coincided with the policy of 19459004 Cuba to encourage tourism, one of the strong points of its economy, with the promotion of seaside resorts and visits to colonial cities to hundreds of kilometers from Havana. 19659006] "Now there will be a 16-hour bus ride to Guantánamo, but what am I going to do?" Said Marlene Mendoza, a daycare worker, after standing in line for about 7 hours outside. from school. Sales Office.
Analysts attribute the problems of Cubana de Aviación to two points affecting the state economy as a whole: The US trade embargo and a model Ineffective Economics
Cubana has not responded to requests for comments on this note.
Founded in 1929 as one of the first airlines of Latin America it was nationalized after the revolution led by Fidel Castro in 1959. His record includes the transfer of Cuban troops to Africa and travels to all countries of the socialist community of Europe .
For decades, Washington's sanctions have prevented it from buying planes made with most US components, including European Airbus and Embraer planes. Brazilian, acquiring the first Soviet then Russian aircraft.
The carrier maintained a stable safety record, but its reputation decreased due to the sluggish service and flight delays that caused tourists Cuba to use mainly ground transportation.
Last year, the Cuban company began canceling more flights and frequently placing passengers in hotels for several days without publicly commenting on the problem.
After the Boeing 737 crash on May 18, Cubana explained that she had rented this plane to the Mexican company Damojh because of the lack of ships to supplement local flights.
A second plane leased to Damojh was left on the ground after a security audit of its fleet by the Mexican authorities, according to Flightradar24, which aggravated the shortage.
The Cuban, Mexican and American authorities are still investigating the accident and have not commented on the possible causes. Damojh said in a statement that he is cooperating with investigations on "the unfortunate accident".
Only four of 16 Cubana planes are flying, according to a Reuters report on Flightradar24 and Planespotters.net data.
Without flying high
Last month, the airline announced that it was cutting lines to Camagüey, Moa, Manzanillo, Bayamo and Guantanamo, in eastern Cuba, mainly used by passengers Cuban, and decreased flight frequencies in Santiago, Holguin and Baracoa, all popular tourist destinations.
In a statement, he said that he was working to resolve the situation and apologized for the interruption.
Cubana de Aviación also canceled international flights, with the exception of those in Buenos Aires and Madrid, employees told Reuters. The company did not comment on this, which left travelers sharing their confusion in the online forums.
"He lost a lot of prestige, it's no longer the famous Cubana that was flying all over the world". a former employee who retired six and a half years ago after 40 years working for the company. He preferred anonymity. "Everywhere else in the world, a company like Cubana would have retired," he said.
Cubana said in mid-June that she had not enough airplanes because of maintenance problems and the lack of rooms that, according to aviation experts, can cost millions of dollars.
The airline sells domestic tickets at heavily subsidized prices. His budget is also limited by travel for official delegations, sometimes also with financial losses, said a former Cuban diplomat familiar with the operations.
Cuba has put forward the 56-year-old US trade embargo as the main economic obstacle and claims that it has cost its air carrier millions of dollars.
The coup de grace was perhaps the purchase of six Antonov An-158 by the Ukrainian manufacturer since 2013. Cubana said that these aircraft had technical problems and get parts for the Russian joint venture Ukrainian proved difficult because of the annexation of Crimea to Russia in 2014.
A representative of Antonov told Reuters that Cubana had not paid the work needed but had signed a cooperation agreement with the airline in April "to resume use of an AN -158 aircraft before the end of the current year." Traditionally, the airlines are renting aircraft when they are under maintenance or in high demand, but the embargo and financial restrictions "probably complicate that for Cuba," said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of Teal Group, a US-based consulting firm. aviation. .
In May, the Lithuanian owner Avión Express and the Italian Blue Panorama ended their contracts with Cubana, said the two companies to Reuters without explaining the causes. Flightradar24 data show that they removed, respectively, four Airbus A320 and one Boeing 737.
It was at this point that Cubana called on the little known Damojh, hiring a Boeing 737 of 39 years of manufacture.
Damojh faced security problems in other countries in the region. The aviation authority of Guyana told Reuters that she had revoked the Mexican flight permit last year due, among other things, to problems such as overloading vessels. The airline declined to comment on the issue.
"I like traveling by plane, it's faster and more comfortable," said 48-year-old Maylín López, who was waiting at the Havana bus station for a 15-hour trip in the party. Eastern Havana. l & # 39; island. "But now I prefer not to think about it," he added.
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