RuAviation

Cuba is the only country where Il-96-300 wide-body long-range airliners perform commercial passenger operations. The service life of these aircraft is up to 30 years, provided uninterrupted and timely after-sales maintenance (ASM), which is performed according to heavy and light “forms”.

The light form involves minor replacement of some units. Heavy form may include modernisation of certain systems, as well as painting, repair of landing gear. ASM, repair and airworthiness restoration of the Il-96 is performed by Voronezh Joint Stock Aircraft Building Company (VASO).

“After-sales service of aircraft is a significant part of the work of our enterprises. For example, at the Voronezh plant, after-sales service for IL-96 and AN-148 aircraft accounts for up to 60 per cent of employment in assembly production. One of the customers for IL-96-300 airworthiness restoration is Cubana de Aviacion,” informed the press service of the United Aircraft Corporation.

According to the UAC representative, one of the airline’s aircraft is now being prepared for handover after maintenance: the Il-96-300 with registration number CU-T1250. “The Cuban partners have plans to restore the airworthiness of their other three Il-96s,” the corporation said.

“We started organising the aircraft maintenance process in 2017, in connection with the termination of IL-96 aircraft maintenance at Domodedovo Airlines and UAC management’s decision to transfer the relevant volumes of maintenance to the manufacturer, i.e. to us.” – Alexander Yarchevsky, Director for Operation Support of VASO, a branch of PJSC “IL” – VASO, tells us. – We have developed an activity manual regulating the procedure of performing maintenance forms and agreed it with Rosaviatsia.”

Cuban IL-96-300 (CU-T1250) made its maiden flight on 6 July 2005. In August it took part in the exposition of MAKS-2005 air show. The airline operated the aircraft on flights from Havana to Moscow, St Petersburg, Shanghai, Madrid, Buenos Aires, Paris, Lisbon and others. In 2017, for nine months it was first in storage in Zhukovsky and then at the ASM in Voronezh. For the current restoration of airworthiness, the aircraft arrived at VASO in August 2022.

As explained in UAC, in addition to the Cuban Il-96-300, VASO is in the process of restoring the airworthiness of two more transport Il-96-400T. One of them – flight RA-96103 – is being prepared for transfer to Sky Gates operator, the second – flight RA-96101 – the plant plans to transfer in 2024.