Venezuela has been going through the worst civil unrest in the Western Hemisphere. Many airlines have either reduced flights, or abandoned it all together. United had left Venezuela earlier this year, and American reduced flights. American had canceled their last international route from San Juan when they canceled flights to Caracas. It seems that Delta Airlines and Avianca are feeling the pain of flying to Maduro’s Venezuela. Delta, Avianca abandon Venezuela after the situation there has deteriorated too much. Airlineroute reports Delta cancels their one flight, and Avianca cancels their 18 weekly flights.
Why is this happening?
As many of you may know, the situation in Venezuela has gone from a political crisis, to an all out collapse of governance and order. The political unrest has had ramifications in all forms. Venezuela has abandoned the Organization of American States, the US has recalled diplomats’ families from the country, and airlines only accept US Dollars as payment for their fights. The IATA reported a few months back that there were billions of US Dollars in Venezuela that could not be recovered. This information pushed legacy airlines such as American and Iberia to only take USD or Euros as payment.
Who is left?
The only American carrier in Venezuela after September 17 will be American Airlines, who fly to CCS from Miami. International airlines that still fly are Copa Airlines, Iberia, Air Europa, Turkish Airlines, TAP Portugal and Air France. I expect this number of airlines to continue to shrink. If the Maduro government cannot stabilize its economy, political theater and international reputation, I don’t expect to see any improvement in air travel connectivity.
Landing Thoughts:
I am not surprised that airlines are leaving Venezuela. I was informed by friends whose parents are deeply involved in Venezuelan politics to stay away. The risk of violence erupting after the election that are to be held soon is very high. I unfortunately have to recommend to my readers to not travel to Venezuela. Unless, the situation improves, I don’t think there is a good reason to tourist there.
What do you think? What do you make of Delta and Avianca’s departure? Do you think American will bail? Who else could bail too? Let us know!
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All images from Wikipedia.
