Post-nationalisation controversies

SACTA's Antonov fleet, early 1960s

The amalgamation of Cuba’s private airlines into SACTA consolidated Cuban commercial aviation under total government ownership. As such, the airline's expropriated investors would soon launch a troublesome campaign against the airline. Most of SACTA's expropriated investors went into exile and sought external litigation against the successor company and against Cuba's revolutionary government. They joined with American investors whose properties had also been nationalised, in rejecting the new government's offer of 20-year 4.5% government bonds as compensation–a rate higher than the one paid for airline bonds in U.S. markets at that time. They instead demanded immediate payment and sought U.S. court orders to impound SACTA's aircraft. Those orders were issued at various times beginning in 1960. Such actions disrupted SACTA's U.S. operations considerably, leading to occasional flight delays or cancellations. The founding of SACTA was among the first wave of business and property nationalisations enacted by Cuba's revolutionary government, as it sought greater control over the economy and the public ownership of strategic enterprises.

Taking on its new role as Cuba’s state airline, SACTA became an important resource in the revolutionary government's foreign relations strategy. Domestic and international travel by the government's leaders, as well as visits by official guests, were coordinated exclusively through the airline. Special flights for government officials and guests were operated frequently, as the airline became an essential visual element of Cuba's foreign policy. Important projects, such as the creation of the Cuban government's international press agency Prensa Latina, used SACTA for all travel arrangements. SACTA's international offices also became intricately linked with Cuba's diplomatic legations.