Trump Allows Commercial Flights to Venezuela After Claiming U.S. Control of the Country

L: Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting on Jan. 29; R: An American Airlines passenger plane.
Credit:

Win McNamee/Getty; Bruce Bennett/Getty

NEED TO KNOW

• President Donald Trump has announced the U.S. will reopen the airspace over Venezuela.
• The FAA first closed the airspace after the overnight capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Saturday, Jan. 3.
• American Airlines, the last U.S. carrier to operate flights to the country, announced plans to resume operations in the coming months.

President Donald Trump revealed that the United States will reopen all commercial airspace over Venezuela, allowing Americans to travel once again.

During a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Jan. 29, Trump informed reporters that he had notified acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez of the upcoming changes, which will take effect by the end of the day.

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

L: Donald Trump; R: Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez.

Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty; Venezuelan National Assembly/Anadolu via Getty

This announcement comes more than three weeks after U.S. military and law enforcement agencies completed the overnight capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Saturday, Jan. 3.

Following the operation, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an emergency Notice to Airmen, prohibiting all civil flight operations of U.S. aircraft in Venezuelan airspace. This directive included all airspace over Venezuela’s land borders and parts of the southern Caribbean Sea.

The FAA, which oversees U.S airspace, also closed its jurisdiction in the Eastern Caribbean, including the San Juan flight information region, which encompasses Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This closure left thousands stranded across the Caribbean in early January.

Following Maduro’s capture, Trump declared that the U.S. intends to “run” Venezuela.

“We’re going to get the oil flowing the way it should be… we’re gonna run it properly,” Trump stated from his residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on Jan. 3. “We’re gonna make sure the people of Venezuela are taken care of.”

According to The Associated Press, diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Venezuela collapsed in 2019. The State Department subsequently raised its travel advisory for Venezuela to the highest level, urging citizens not to visit.

As of Jan. 29, the State Department’s travel advisory for Venezuela remains at “Level 4: Do Not Travel.”

American Airlines announced its plans to resume flights to Venezuela following the reopening of the airspace. The airline was the last U.S. carrier to operate in Venezuela before suspending flights in March 2019.

An American Airlines plane.

Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty

“We have a more than 30-year history connecting Venezolanos to the U.S., and we are ready to renew that incredible relationship,” said Nat Pieper, American’s chief commercial officer, on Jan. 29. “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.”

The airline plans to provide further details about the initiative in the upcoming months as it collaborates with federal authorities on necessary permissions and security assessments.