Russian tourists stranded in Cuba were repatriated by charter flights

Of the 5,000 people stranded in Cuba since the suspension of regular services operated by Russian companies, nearly 900 Russian tourists were able to board several charter flights on Sunday evening and many do the same on Monday.

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NATO and EU member states have been suspended from airspace in retaliation for an overplot imposed on Russian airlines over retaliation for Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

An airport official in the resort town of Varadero, east of Havana, told reporters that 927 Russian passengers had left for Moscow on Sunday and another 940 were likely to board on Monday.

AFP

“We arrived on February 25, we had to give up five days’ vacation and we will not be reimbursed,” complained AFP Alexei Nekrachevich, a 48-year-old tourist who arrived in Cuba with his wife.

AFP

“We’re ashamed to leave early, we did not get enough rest, but what can we do about it?” He added.

AFP

The official Cuban Press reported on Friday that 5,570 Russian tourists were stranded on the Caribbean island after Russian companies cut off regular contact with Aeroflot, Azure Air and Nordwind Island.

AFP

According to the official communications organ of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC), the Russian company Nordwind must establish four-week connections between Varadero and Moscow.

Cuba is counting Russian visitors from 74,019 passengers in 2020 to 146,151 in 2021, in order to revive tourism, which has been shut down since March 2020 due to a major engine epidemic of its economy.

AFP

The Cuban government said on Wednesday that nearly 15,000 Russian tourists and 2,000 Ukrainian tourists were stranded in the Dominican Republic for similar reasons.

Agreements have been reached with hotel chains to guarantee accommodation to tourists until a solution to the repatriation is found.