CARACAS, Venezuela — After a seven-year hiatus, direct commercial air travel between the United States and Venezuela resumed Thursday when the first flight touched down in the South American nation’s capital city.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security had halted these flights indefinitely in 2017 due to safety and security issues, forcing travelers to use connecting flights through other Latin American nations.
This restoration of air service follows significant recent developments, including the dramatic capture of Nicolás Maduro during a nighttime operation at his Caracas residence in early January.
Additionally, the United States officially reopened its embassy in Venezuela’s capital last month after reestablishing complete diplomatic relations with the nation.
Envoy Air, which operates under the American Airlines brand, ran Flight AA3599 from Miami on Thursday morning. The aircraft departed at 10:16 a.m. Eastern time and completed the three-hour journey to Venezuela before returning to Florida that afternoon.
The carrier has announced plans to launch a second daily route connecting Miami and Caracas beginning May 21.
President Donald Trump addressed the development in late January, telling Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez about his decision to reopen Venezuelan airspace to commercial traffic, enabling American travelers to visit safely.
“American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they’ll be safe there,” Trump stated during his announcement.
This marks the first time since 2019 that passengers could travel directly between the two countries without stopovers. During the suspension period, travelers had to rely on foreign carriers and indirect routing through neighboring countries in the region.
When American Airlines initially announced the flight resumption in January, company officials emphasized it would allow passengers to reconnect with relatives and explore new commercial ventures.
American Airlines had been the final U.S. carrier serving Venezuelan destinations before suspending both its Miami-Caracas route and service to the petroleum center of Maracaibo in 2019. Delta and United Airlines had already discontinued their Venezuelan operations in 2017 during a political upheaval that led millions of citizens to leave the country.
