Part of the old and useless fleet of the state-owned Cubana de Aviación, the ‘ship’ was equipped to serve 24 diners
14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, 4 March 2025 — Two years after completing the interior of the Russian-operated Antonov (An-24), all that remains are a deserted esplanade and a custodian, which indicates that it is closed, without any reopening date set.
Inaugurated as a gastronomic restaurant in early 2013, El Avión began its journey by causing a real stir. Its arrival on the Central Highway to its final location caused great fright among the people of Sancti Spíritus, who believed that it had crashed. That beginning was an omen of the random path that it would take later.
Part of the old and useless fleet of the state-owned Cubana de Aviación, the small plane was renovated to serve 24 diners. To reinforce the idea of a flight, customers were received in a replica of an air terminal, a cubicle where the “captain” took their orders before they entered the “plane.” While waiting to board, they could have a cocktail and feel that they were future travelers in a waiting room.
Once inside the An-24, “passengers” could sample the main dishes and imagine that the plane, designed in 1957 in the Soviet Union, had taken off and was now lost among the clouds heading to a remote destination. For many of the customers who arrived it was the first time they had been on an aircraft, although it was still anchored to the ground. After dining, the service staff announced that it was time to deplane to make way for the next customers.
“Like everything in this country, it started more or less well, but when it had been opened a few months, I came for my birthday and the food was already terrible,” said a man born in the province who, after visiting the nearby agricultural fair, decided to go see “the little plane,” as many called it. “I ordered a dish with shrimp, because they specialized in fish and seafood, but it was inedible. The tomato sauce they added didn’t taste good; it was full of chunks.”
However, the man recalls that “it was a different place and the children loved to come.” For many “it was a way to fulfill their dream of being on a plane. Here there are many people who have not even left this province, let alone flown from one place to another.” Nor do the nearby facilities that served to support the restaurant, such as the bathroom and the supposed terminal, provide service. A Cuban flag painted on the side of the Antonov has been fading with the rain, the sun and the passage of time, that same accumulation of years and neglect that once prevented it from leaving the ground and that now make it impossible to survive as a restaurant.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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