A US commercial airliner will take off for Venezuela for the first time in seven years on Thursday morning (local time) as the two sides continue to rebuild economic ties after the ouster of Venezuela’s former president Nicolas Maduro in January, CNN reported.
American Airlines’ inaugural flight will take just under three and a half hours. He leaves Miami, Florida for Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, at 10:16 a.m. on Thursday. ET (7:46 p.m. IST), before landing at Simon Bolivar International Airport at 1:36 p.m. local time. The return to Miami is scheduled for later in the afternoon.
American Airlines launched its inaugural flight to Venezuela
The carrier said it would be the first US carrier to resume daily service to the South American country, adding that it would use dual-class Embraer 175 aircraft operated by Envoy, the airline’s wholly-owned subsidiary.
The carrier announced its intention to resume flights to Caracas earlier in January, the same day US President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Transportation to take steps to restore air service to Venezuela.
In a January report, she said: “American Airlines is proud to be the first airline to announce plans to resume nonstop service between the United States and Venezuela. The airline remains in close contact with federal authorities and is ready to begin flights to Venezuela, pending government approval and a security assessment.”
American Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Nat Pieper said, “We have more than 30 years of history connecting Venezuelans with the U.S. and we are ready to renew this incredible relationship,” adding, “By restarting service to Venezuela, American will offer customers the opportunity to reconnect with families and create new business and commerce with the United States.”
The US banned airlines operating in Venezuela in 2019
American Airlines, once considered the largest US airline operating in Caracas, suspended operations in 2019 when Washington banned passenger and cargo flights to Caracas.
However, it lifted the ban two weeks ago after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) determined that “conditions in Venezuela no longer threaten the safety of passengers, aircraft and crew.”
The US is interested in Maduro
The ban was lifted nearly three months after the US military captured Nicolas Maduro and his wife in January. When he tried to escape to his steel security room, he was quickly dragged into custody. His capture was the dramatic culmination of a months-long campaign whose ultimate goal had long been clear to those involved in its planning: to remove Maduro from power.
The US normalizes diplomatic relations with Venezuela
Since the raid in early January, the Trump administration has normalized diplomatic and economic relations with the country’s incumbent government, led by interim president Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president.
Under pressure from Trump and his administration, Rodríguez introduced a series of political and economic reforms, including an amnesty law that freed hundreds of political prisoners and a hydrocarbon law that made it easier for foreign companies to participate in the country’s oil industry.
In return, Washington eases sanctions previously imposed on Venezuelan entities.
