American Airlines plans to resume US flights to Venezuela after Trump moves to open airspace

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) – American Airlines said on Thursday it planned to resume  services to Venezuela for the first time in more than six years pending government approval and subject to security assessments, just weeks after the U.S. military seized the country’s leader.

U.S. President Donald Trump earlier on Thursday asked the Transportation Department to lift restrictions that currently bar U.S. flights after a discussion with the country’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez.

“American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they’ll be safe there,” Trump said.

American suspended  service to Venezuela in 2019 after the U.S. barred flights. The United States earlier this month attacked Venezuela and captured the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, in a military operation. 

United Airlines declined to say if it wanted to resume flights. Delta Air Lines did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

American, which started operating in Venezuela in 1987, said the planned daily flights will provide the opportunity for business, leisure and humanitarian travel to the region. It was the largest U.S. airline in the country before the suspension of flights. 

Flights are not likely to resume for weeks or a few months since the Federal Aviation Administration will need to conduct assessments and the Transportation Security Administration is also likely to conduct a security review.

“We look forward to facilitating the return of regular travel between the U.S. and Venezuela,” the FAA said on Thursday.

The Transportation Department will also need to rescind a 2019 order still in place that bars U.S. flights that was issued in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security and the approval of the Secretary of State.

The State Department also added Venezuela to its “Do Not Travel” list for Americans in December.

On January 16, the FAA warned airlines to exercise caution when flying over Mexico, Central America and parts of South America, citing the risks of potential military activities and GPS interference.

The FAA on Thursday rescinded the caution notices for Mexico and Central American countries, as well as Ecuador, Colombia and portions of airspace within the eastern Pacific Ocean, saying they were no longer necessary.

Last month, a JetBlue passenger jet bound for New York took evasive action to avoid a mid-air collision with a U.S. Air Force tanker plane near Venezuela that did not have its transponder activated.

(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Jamie Freed)