An Il-96 landed at Beijing's Capital International Airport on Sunday, carrying 168 members of the Cuban delegation to the Olympic Games set to open in Beijing in 12 days.

It was the first charter flight of the Olympic family to land in Beijing.

The Beijing airport has opened a new terminal, a 100,000-square-meter area coded T3D, for all Olympic and Paralympic charter flights, where the Cuban team quickly went through all formalities via 16 green passageways, said Dong Zhiyi, managing director of Beijing Capital International Airport Co. Ltd.

Perez Fernandez Mario, a press officer with the Cuban team, said the trip to Beijing was "exciting" and the forthcoming Games were "full of expectations".

Miguel Quintana, who won gold in men's 60kg freestyle wrestling at the Athens Games, said he would very much like to win another gold in Beijing.

The Cuban team will be competing in 16 sports in Beijing, including swimming, boxing, volleyball and shooting.

Beijing airport expects several hundred charter flight take-offs and landings during the Olympics and the Paralympics, said Dong.

(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2008)