Aeroflot to return to Cuba with Rossiya aircraft

Aeroflot will resume flights to Cuba this upcoming summer. The flights, which are set to begin on July 1, will fly from Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO) to Kawama International Airport (VRO), serving Varadero, Cuba. The Moscow to Varadero route has been a popular route in the past. However, after the invasion of Ukraine led to Russian-imposed sanctions, the airline was forced to cancel this route, among others. This included many routes that connected Russia to destinations in the Caribbean. This was because of the airspace restrictions that were imposed on the country of Russia by the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, as well as others. Aeroflot looked to keep travel to the Caribbean going by flying through Turkey and Serbia and using the countries as points of entry and exit from Russia. Because of this, in the first quarter of 2023, Cuba saw over 38,000 Russian tourists enter the country, according to data from the Russian Tourism Agency. Russian tourists have found Cuba to be a popular destination due to the ease of the use of Russian currency. It is possible to pay in rubles and use Russian payment systems on the island.<br/>