Antonov State Enterprise and Cubana de Aviacion (Cuba) came to an agreement on additional deliveries of An-158 aircraft, Kommersant-Ukraine reports.

At present these aircraft are being tested in Ecuador in order to be certified for operation in high mountain regions. The certificate should expand the sales geography of Antonov: for example, some experts believe that the enterprise may sell about 50 or even 70 aircraft in Latin America.

Cubana de Aviacion is interested in purchasing at least 10 more An-158s. Deputy General Designer of Antonov State Enterprise, Alexander Keeva, confirmed that the parties came to the agreement on additional deliveries of An-158 aircraft; however, the firm contract has not been signed yet.

"We are getting close to signing the agreement with Cubana de Aviacion. At present representatives of Antonov, Ilyushin Finance & Co. (IFC) leasing company and the Cuban carrier are carrying out high-altitude flight tests of An-158 in Ecuador and Bolivia",— Alexander Keeva said.

At present An-158 is certified for operation at airfields located at an altitude of up to 2 km, press-secretary of IFC, Andrey Lipovetsky, said. According to him, the testing will be completed in 2013. As a result An-158 should be certified for operation at airfields located at an altitude of up to 4 km. "This certificate will allow operating An-158 aircraft in Latin America and South-East Asia", — he said.