Almost every year, one of the three Casa CN-235 transport aircraft based at French Guiana’s Base aérienne 367 (the 367th Air Base) “Captain François Massé” makes a long journey to mainland France for its scheduled maintenance. In August 2026, one of them took a rather unusual route – heading north across the Atlantic instead of following the more traditional southern route.
Between 17 and 22 August, a CN-235 belonging to Escadron de Transport 68 (the 68th Transport Squadron) “Antilles-Guyane” covered 12,660 km during approximately 30 hours of flight, eventually reaching Air Base 105 Évreux-Fauville in Normandy. The aircraft was flown by an eleven-member crew and made several technical stops en route, including Fort-de-France in Martinique, Nassau in the Bahamas and New York, in the United States.
From the United States, the crew continued towards the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, marking the beginning of the most unusual part of the journey. On 19 August, the CN-235 was presented to local residents on both Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, giving them an opportunity to see the aircraft up close. For the inhabitants of Miquelon, it was the first visit by a CN-235, although a C-160 Transall had landed in the archipelago ten years earlier.
From Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, the aircraft headed north-east to Nuuk, Greenland. The subsequent leg along the southern Greenlandic coast proved challenging due to difficult weather conditions, but the CN-235 continued towards Belfast in Northern Ireland, its final stop before crossing the English Channel.
The last stage of the journey took the aircraft over the famous white cliffs of Étretat, before landing at Évreux on 22 August. There, the CN-235 was handed over for its scheduled regulatory inspection, essential for maintaining the aircraft’s operational readiness.
The northern route is not usually taken for the annual transfer. The usual journey takes the aircraft southwards through Brazil, across the Atlantic to Africa and onwards via Cape Verde. The northern option is possible only during the summer, when weather and daylight conditions allow the route to be flown safely. It is used every two years, making the 2026 deployment a relatively rare opportunity to demonstrate the CN-235’s ability to cover long distances with several demanding legs.
However, the mission did not end at Évreux. After reaching the base, the new crew took over for the second phase of the operation – flying a replacement CN-235 back to Air Base 367. This time, the aircraft will return to French Guiana using the southern route, completing the annual migration in the opposite direction.
Cover photo: CN-235 at the Nuuk airport, Greenland.
nformation from the press releases of the French Ministry of Defence – published on the MoD page in August 2026 – were used, in accordance to the etalab-2.0 licence. All photos © the French Ministry of Defence.
AI tools used to translate and edit from French.
