American Airlines has announced plans to resume service to Venezuela after a nearly seven year hiatus, but has not revealed any details about its service resumption.
American Airlines Plans Daily Service To Venezuela
U.S. carriers suspended service to Venezuela after the Venezuelan economy took a turn for the worst under Nicolas Maduro, who assumed control of the Bolivarian Republic after the death of Hugo Chavez in 2013. Strict currency export controls limited the amount of money that airlines could extract from Venezuela, making the routes financially unviable. Furthermore, as violence worsened in the capital of Caracas, carriers feared for the safety of their crews and were forced to resort to unorthodox methods, like United Airlines adding a technical stop in Aruba.
> Read More: United’s Clever Trick to Keep Crews Out of Dangerous Venezuela
AA is “ready to commence flights to Venezuela, pending government approval and security assessments.” It has not announced which route(s) will launch, but it’s a safe bet that American will resume the Miami (MIA) – Caracas (CCS) route.
Nat Pieper, American’s Chief Commercial Officer, said:
“We have a more than 30-year history connecting Venezolanos to the U.S., and we are ready to renew that incredible relationship. By restarting service to Venezuela, American will offer customers the opportunity to reunite with families and create new business and commerce with the United States.”
American Airlines first began flying to to Venezuela in 1987 and flew without pause until 2019. AA says it has “provided crucial nonstop links that have enabled business, friends and family, leisure and humanitarian travel” and wants to resume daily service as soon as possible.
American will share additional details about its return to service in the coming months as it works closely with federal authorities on all necessary permissions and security assessments prior to resuming service.
The situation on the ground continues to evolve. Rather than support María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan dissident who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025, the Trump Administration has supported Delcy Rodríguez, one of Maduro’s lieutenants who assumed the role in an intern capacity after the U.S. deposed Maduro last month.
I’ve long wanted to visit Venezuela (and wasted so much time and money trying to obtain a tourist visa in the past). I’m hoping to use this window of opportunity to fly there sooner rather than later, though if I go you can bet I’ll work in a Conviasa Airbus A340 to the trip.
CONCLUSION
As the situation in Venezuela evolves, American Airlines is preparing to resume service to Caracas. There are not details yet beyond AA stating it is ready to launch daily service as soon as it receives permission to do so.
Would you travel to Venezuela now?
Isn’t a Venezuelan visa basically unobtainable in the US at the moment? Inevitably the requirement will be waived sometime in the future, but as it stands, MIA-CCS isn’t very useful if you have to get your visa in Bogota.
Right. I was working to get it in Mexico City and the frequent trips back and forth really added up…will be by most expensive visa ever if I ever get it. All has been paused, for now…
Good luck, though it must be frustrating. With the oil stuff they agreed to yesterday, the visa requirement will almost certainly be gone this year. Quite honestly, as it should be.
Welcome to the experience most foreigners have when trying to obtain or renew a US tourist visa. However, most have to make a much longer trip than LAX-MEX to visit a US Consulate or Embassy in their country, in addition to the longer wait and higher cost for a visa that can be cancelled at any time, without a valid reason.
Most people have to travel much longer than 2,500 km?
Distance from Manaus (population + 2 million+) to Brasilia (nearest American embassy/consulate): 3.400 kms
Brasilia-Boa Vista : 4.000 kms
Brasilia-Rio Branco: 3.000 kms
Etc…
Matt, our trip to Angel Falls is so back!
Gross.
There’s something deeply rotten about how the dust from the U.S. regime change in Caracas hasn’t even settled and corporations are already licking their chops.
I live in Venezuela, in greater Caracas. please take note, even tho Maduro was taken the regime is still in charge. there are bands of “thugs” around in the streets just looking for European / American-looking folks; they will stop you (if in car or on foot) and question you, take your phone to scour for information. same with arrival at the airport, your passport (EU,American or Canadian) will get you detained and questioned and your phone will be taken for “review” …. God Forbid you say you’re a journalist. most detentions only last an hour or so, and if the”authorities” are satisfied with your answers and your phone doesn’t contain any anti-regime negativity you’ll be sent in your way (even tho I read an individual with a Philippine pp was turned away at the airport from entering). folks, it ain’t “peaches and cream” down here. it’ll take many more months for things to settle down in so far as the paranoia of foreigners dies down.
Hopefully these are one way ice deportation flights. Time is these Venezuelans came in during the Biden migrant wave
Hopefully these are one way ice deportation flights. Time for these Venezuelans that came in during the Biden migrant wave to go back.