Image source, Getty Images
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- author, Drafting
- Author title, BBC World News
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The Venezuelan Civil Aviation Authority (INAC) has threatened to cancel the right of passage of several international airlines within 48 hours if they do not resume their flights to the country.
The warning was issued on Monday, after some companies suspended their services to the territory due to warnings raised by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) about the dangers of flying over the airspace of the South American country.
At least seven airlines have suspended their flights, including Colombia’s Avianca, Brazil’s GOL, Portugal’s TAP Air, Spain’s Iberia, Air Europa, LATAM Airlines and Turkish Airlines.
The Venezuelan warning, which expires on Wednesday at 12:00 local time, involves the withdrawal of Venezuela’s traffic rights, which grant landing and take-off sites at its airports, and occurs specifically in the midst of the growing and widespread military deployment of the United States in the Caribbean and in the vicinity of the South American country.
The official goal of this deployment, which includes the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford (the largest in the world), was to combat drug trafficking, but it inflamed tensions with the government of President Nicolas Maduro, who condemned it as an attempted attack against him.
Given the situation, the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday warned of a “potentially dangerous situation” in the airspace managed from Maiquetia International Airport, which serves Caracas.
The US authorities recommended that airlines exercise caution when operating in this space “due to the deteriorating security situation and increased military activity in or around Venezuela.”
“The threats may represent a potential danger to aircraft at all altitudes, including in-flight, the arrival and departure phases of flights, and/or airports and aircraft on the ground,” they said in a statement.
“This will reduce contact even further.”
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the entity that brings together a large portion of the world’s airlines, responded to the Venezuelan warning by noting that this would only lead to “further reduced connectivity to the country,” which is already low compared to other countries in the region.
The organization called for maintaining dialogue between authorities “so that they cooperate in a more consensual manner and provide greater clarity to airlines operating in the FIR in Maiquetía.”
At the same time, he stressed that the decision to suspend flights was temporary and was taken “after a careful analysis of the risks to ensure the safety of passengers, crews and aircraft, in accordance with international standards.”
“IATA member airlines remain committed to restoring operations to and from Venezuela as soon as conditions allow, and reiterate their readiness to maintain open channels of communication with the Venezuelan authorities,” the organization said in a statement, according to EFE news agency.
Representatives of international airlines who met yesterday with the Venezuelan Ministry of Transport spoke in the same context. At the meeting, according to local authorities, the two parties expressed their intention to cooperate to normalize the situation.
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