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A first flight of the Russian company Nordwind Airlines arrived, Wednesday, October 5, in Varadero, Cuba, after seven months of interruption to this tourist destination due to sanctions hitting Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, announced the official Cuban news agency Prensa Latina. The Cuban tourist agency Cubatur received the passengers of this first flight, “as part of a trip that marks the resumption of tourist flights from the Russian capital” to Cuba, added the same source.

Prensa Latina did not specify the number of tourists arriving on this flight at Varadero airport, 150 kilometers east of Havana. Nordwind Airlines had been working for months to identify a route avoiding US and European airspace, according to Russian tour operator Pegas Touristik.

Prensa Latina does not specify the route followed by the Nordwind Airlines aircraft. In March 2022, the European Union closed its airspace to Russian companies, one of the many economic sanctions hitting Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. Cuba is betting on tourism to revive its economy and expects to attract 2.5 million visitors by 2022.

In the first seven months of 2022, nearly 835,000 tourists arrived in the country, an increase of 590% compared to the same period of the previous year, according to official data.