Venezuela continues to accumulate flight suspensions despite its Government's warning

Caracas.- Venezuela continued to accumulate suspensions of international flights this Tuesday, mainly to Spain, while the deadline that the Government of Nicolás Maduro gave to the airlines that canceled their trips to resume them before 16:00 GMT tomorrow, Wednesday, runs. Faced with the wave of itinerary suspensions to and from Caracas, the Venezuelan government warned that airlines that have canceled their flights in the country have until 12:00 local time on Wednesday to resume their operations, because, otherwise, their "permanent flight" permits will be revoked.

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"The Venezuelan State has taken a position with the airlines and will take the corresponding actions. They have less than 24 hours left," a source from the Ministry of Transportation told EFE. This situation arises after the US aviation authority alerted about overflights in Venezuelan territory, in a context where the US maintains a military deployment in the Caribbean. From Saturday to this Tuesday, some 33 international operations were suspended in the South American country, after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration urged commercial flights to "exercise extreme caution" when flying over Venezuela and the southern Caribbean, due to what it called "a potentially dangerous situation in the region". The notification was made public amid a U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean Sea under the argument of combating drug trafficking and which Caracas considers a "threat" that seeks to bring about a change of government.

Cancellations Continue

Despite the warning from the Venezuelan Government, the Spanish airline Air Europa announced this Tuesday the cancellation of flights to Madrid on the 27th, 29th and 30th of November. Likewise, Laser indicated that it is "unable" to fly to Madrid until December 1, following a notice from Enaire, a Spanish public company assigned to air navigation management. Enaire, the Spanish agency managing air navigation, recommended that Spanish civil operators not perform any flights in the airspace within the FIR (airspace managed by the control tower) of Maiquetía, which covers Venezuela and extends to the Caribbean Sea. Under the same argument, the Venezuelan airline Estelar also announced the suspension of its flights on November 24, 26, 28 and December 1st. The company announced that the rescheduling of these flights will be announced "in a timely manner" once the validity date of the Enaire notification has expired. Both Laser and Estelar travel to Madrid in alliance with the Spanish providers Plus Ultra and Iberojet, respectively. In addition, the Brazilian airline Gol reported that it will maintain the suspension of flights to Venezuela at least until next Friday. The airline has a regular route between Caracas and Guarulhos airport, in São Paulo. For the time being, Copa, Wingo, Boliviana de Aviación and Satena, as well as the Venezuelan state-owned Conviasa, are maintaining their operations in Venezuela.

Between Trust and Tension

On Monday, government authorities and airline representatives in Venezuela met to coordinate actions to ensure the continuity of travel. The Ministry of Transportation specified that "the central message of the meeting was trust and safety in operations by the air service providers to passengers." However, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that the situation became even more tense after the warning from the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics (INAC) of Venezuela that airlines should resume their operations within 48 hours, under threat of sanctions including the suspension of traffic rights.

This Tuesday, the international association clarified that the companies that could lose their traffic rights in Venezuela, after receiving this warning from INAC, are those that have suspended their flights.

Among the airlines that have canceled their itineraries are the Spanish Iberia, Air Europa and Plus Ultra, as well as the companies TAP, Avianca, Latam, Turkish Airlines and GOL, all of them members of IATA. Latam, the largest in Latin America, reported this Tuesday that it will reschedule for December 2nd a flight scheduled for November 26th between Bogota and Caracas, in a new adjustment due to the FAA's notice. President Nicolás Maduro asked Transport Minister Ramón Velásquez on Monday to guarantee compliance with the law, although he did not offer further details or mention the cancellation of flights by airlines.