OBoi of Current^ CIA/RR CB
I'.gc. op, No.
73
Support Brief
PASSENGER MOVEMENTS ON AEROFLOT'S MOSCOW - HAVANA SERVICE JANUARY -
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY >fficc of Research and Reports
This document contains cleaned utforaiafion affecting Ihe national security of the United States witnia'^mcanlng of the espionage laws. OS Code,. The law prohibits its transmission or the-revelatton of its contents in any manner to an unauthorized person, as welTas Its use in any manner prejudicial to the safety or interest of the United States or for the benefit of any foreign government to the detriment of the United States.
PASSENGER MOVEMENTS ON AEROFLOT'S AVANA SERVICE3
An analysis of Aeroflot flight service between Moscow and Havana in iheonths3 indicates lhat iho service is not being used to augment the Soviet presence in Cuba. Flights to Havana have operated at passenger loads of aboutercent of the limited capacity of 60 Flights from Havana to Moscow operatedubstantially higher load factor ofercent. During the period an estimated totalassengers was transported from Moscow to Havana andassengers were transported from Havana to Moscow. The passengers were overwhelmingly Soviet and Cuban nationals, who accounted for aboutercent of the passenger load in each direction. oviet nationals made the trip from Moscow to Havana, whereasoviet nationals made the trip from Havana to Moscow. art of the Soviet nationals returning to Moscow were tourist groups who were carried to Havana by the Czechoslovak airline.
After several unsuccessful attempts tocheduled air service to Havana by way of points in Africa. Aeroflot. the Soviet civil air carrier, innnounced its intention to maintain service byirect Moscow to Havana route by way of the North Atlanticefueling slop al Murmansk. Thia route isilometers long and is billed proudly by Aeroflot as the longest nonstop route in scheduled international service. roving flight was flown late innd scheduled service was inaugurated
The North Atlantic route is undoubtedly the most uneconomic and most hazardous of all ofnternational routes. The length of the route and the unfavorable winds encountered in the southbound direction have made it necessary to reduce the passenger capacity of
th*i that riy the route toeats and to install auxiliary fuel tanks. Many of the southbound flights arrive at Havana with fuelclose to exhaustion.
As oferoflot had flownlights in each direction on this route- All but one of these flightshoune flight via Conakry were flown by way of the North Atlantic Information is now available on the passengers carried onf the southbound flights and onf the northbound flights.
A totalersons are known to have flown to Havana on theouthbound flights,ersons flew from Havana to Moscow on theorthbound flights. It is possible, moreover, to identify the nationality ofercent of the southbound passengersf the northbound passengers on these flights. Amongassengers identified by nationality on the southboundere Soviet nationals andercent were Cuban nationals. Ofassengers identified on the northbound flights.ercent wore Soviet nationals andercent were Cuban nationals (see the table).
* This analysis is made on the assumption that the nationalities asare correct. It is not uncommon for travelers entering orCuba to make false declarations of nationality.
The passenger load factors on flights for which passenger data are available arcercent in the southbound direction andercent in the northbound direction. Application of these factors to the remaining flights for which passenger data are not available yields total results which show that Aeroflotassengers to Cuba in theonths3 and carried aboutassengers on the return trip from Havana to Moscow. If the known identification by nationality onercent of the flights is applied to all the flights,oviet nationals entered Cuba on Aeroflot flights during theonthsndeparted. The excess of Soviet nationals loaving Cuba on Aeroflot flights is explained in part by the fact that some tourist groups are brought to Havana by the Czechoslovak airline but return to Moscow with Aeroflot- Even when allowances are made for this imbalance in traffic flows, it is apparent that the USSR is not using its air connection to Havanaoans of augmenting the Soviet presence in Cuba.
Known and Estimated Passenger Movement on Aeroiiot Flight. Between Moscow and Havana3
Units
Flight Wo. M7 PliRht Ho.OUR
French Hungarian Korean
Mongolian
Spanish Uruguayan
it2>
0
Unidentified
Eet inated
Original document.
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