Air China starts cargo transportation to Cuba

Commercial aviation between China and Cuba has just taken a historic leap. On Wednesday afternoon, Air China completed its first cargo transport, as part of its regular flight that has connected Havana with Beijing twice a week since May 17th, 2024.

Cuba’s Minister of Transportation, Eduardo Rodríguez, accompanied by the Chinese ambassador to Cuba, Hua Xin, assured that the new air link will facilitate commercial relations between both nations, thanks to the efforts of specialists from both countries.

“Cuba has an exceptional location in the Caribbean to distribute cargo from our country to other nations, and this is the first step,” Rodríguez stated to the press on the runway of the Havana airport terminal.

He considered the arrival as a “transcendental fact” because it is a more efficient route that will allow direct cargo shipments from China. He also assured that this new possibility promises to transform trade exchange and strengthen bilateral ties.

For its part, the Chinese ambassador in Cuba thanked the collaboration of the business organizations involved from both countries and predicted great success for this new alternative for commercial exchange.

For Cuba, in addition to constituting a direct and more efficient route for exports to that market, it represents a first step in the strategic aspiration of turning the island into a regional logistics exchange point for cargo, a projection in which Air China would be welcome.

With this initiative, Air China demonstrates its confidence in the Cuban market. Meanwhile, Cuba gains a key tool to boost its economy at a time of commercial transformations and many needs.

AeroVaradero S. A., a company belonging to the Cuban Civil Aviation Corporation, will be in charge of managing the reception of the cargo sent from China.

Air China reopened the flights from Beijing to Havana, with a stopover in Madrid, in May of last year, after having suspended them as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. China’s flagship airline began its operations to Cuba in 2015.

With information from Cubadebate and Trabajadores

Translated by Aliani Rojas Fernandez

Radio Angulo
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