Il-96-300 plane flew to Venezuela but returned without touching Caracas

The only aircraft of this series outside the Russian Federation returned to Cuba

On the afternoon of January 8, a wide-body Il-96-300 aircraft of the airline Cubana circled for several minutes off the coast of Venezuela, probably waiting for permission to land in Caracas, but flew back to Cuba. Flight data appeared in the Flightradar tracking service.

It should be noted that the Il-96-300 with registration number CU-T1250 belongs to the Cuban national airline Cubana de Aviación. As of January 2026, the aircraft CU-T1250 is the last actively flying Il-96-300 outside of Russia.

In October 2025, the plane returned to Cubaafter a long overhaul in Minsk and is now operating flights, including routes to Madrid and Caracas.

In total, Cuba purchased four Il-96-300s in Russia. However, other aircraft with numbers CU-T1251, CU-T1254, CU-T1717 are now in storage or in a non-flying condition. Although a fleet restoration program does exist, only CU-T1250 remains in service.

It should be added that the remaining operated aircraft of the Il-96 family are located in the Russian Federation and are mainly used by government agencies, including theSpecial Flight Detachment "Russia".

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