On Thursday, April 30, the first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela departed for the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. Prior to this flight, the Department of Homeland Security in the United States had indefinitely suspended flights due to security concerns, leading to a 7-year hiatus in direct flights between the two countries.
The resumption of commercial air routes between the two countries stemmed from a late-night raid by the US military on the presidential palace in Caracas in early January, where the then Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, was captured. Subsequently, the two countries restored full diplomatic relations, and the US embassy in Caracas officially reopened a month ago.
According to reports from the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse, the AA3599 flight operated by Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines, took off from Miami at 10:11 local time, five minutes ahead of schedule. After a three-hour flight, the plane safely landed at Simon Bolivar International Airport on the outskirts of Caracas.
Footage from the scene showed that after landing, the pilots displayed the flag of Venezuela from the cockpit window, symbolizing the warming relations between the two countries. Among the first passengers to disembark was Jarrod Agen, the Executive Director of the US National Energy Dominance Commission.
In late January, US President Trump stated that he had informed the acting Venezuelan president, Delcy Rodríguez, that US airspace would be open to Venezuela. Trump emphasized that “American citizens will soon be able to travel to Venezuela, where they will be safe.”
Daniella Levine Cava, the Mayor of Miami-Dade County, expressed during a news conference on the inaugural flight that Miami is home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States, and the direct flight will reunite countless families who have been separated for years.
This marks the first non-stop direct flight between the two countries since the rupture of US-Venezuela diplomatic relations in 2019. Over the past seven years, passengers had to transfer through neighboring Latin American countries.
As the last US airline to exit the Venezuelan market, American Airlines ceased flights to Caracas and the oil hub of Maracaibo in 2019. Delta and United Airlines had already withdrawn from Venezuela in 2017 due to the worsening political crisis.
American Airlines has announced that they will launch a second daily flight between Miami and Caracas starting from May 21.