First commercial flight from US to Venezuela takes off after nearly seven years

By Michael Rios, David Culver, Carlos Martinelli, Mary Triny Mena, CNN

Miami (CNN) — A commercial passenger plane took off from the US to Venezuela on Thursday morning for the first time in nearly seven years, as the countries continue to restore economic ties following the ouster of Venezuela’s strongman leader in January.

The inaugural American Airlines flight will last just under 3.5 hours, departing from Miami to Caracas at 10:16 a.m. ET, before landing at Simon Bolivar International Airport at 1:36 p.m. local time. It is scheduled to return to Miami later Thursday afternoon.

American Airlines said it is the first US carrier to relaunch a daily service to the South American country, using an Embraer 175 dual-class aircraft operated by Envoy, the airlines’ wholly owned subsidiary.

The excitement was palpable before the flight in Miami International Airport, where music was blaring at the boarding gate alongside free food, including the country’s staple dish of arepas, and balloons in the color of the Venezuelan flag. One TSA worker looked at a boarding pass and said to CNN: “Caracas? I’ve not seen that destination in a while.”

Onboard the plane, around two-thirds of the seats were taken due to weight restrictions and were largely filled with journalists and officials.

The airline had announced its intent to resume flights in January, the same day US President Donald Trump instructed the Department of Transportation to take steps to reestablish air service to Venezuela.

Flights to Caracas vary in price depending on the date of departure, type of ticket and route. A search on the American Airlines website shows a round-trip ticket departing Miami early May and returning end of the month is costing more than $1,000.

It was similarly festive at Simon Bolivar International Airport, about 16 miles west of Caracas, as a saxophonist played “Theme from New York, New York.”

Ricardo Mariani told CNN that he is traveling on the afternoon American Airlines flight back to Miami to attend his daughter’s graduation in Florida and to get his vision checked.

“It is a big opportunity for the country, for all of us,” Mariani said at Simon Bolivar International Airport. “Before it could take an entire day flying from layover to layover.”

The Venezuelan said the flight layovers were risky due to a condition impacting his vision. “I had been waiting for this flight for years,” he added.

Normalizing relations

American, once considered the largest US airline operating in Venezuela, had suspended service in 2019, when the US banned passenger and cargo flights traveling there.

The US formally rescinded the ban two weeks ago after the Department of Homeland Security determined that “conditions in Venezuela no longer threaten the safety and security of passengers, aircraft, and crew.”

It came months after the US military carried out a deadly raid in Caracas to capture and oust Venezuela’s authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro.

The US has since gradually normalized diplomatic and economic relations with Venezuela’s acting government led by interim President Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president.

Under US pressure, Rodríguez has enacted a series of political and economic reforms, including an amnesty law that released hundreds of political prisoners and a hydrocarbons law that makes it easier for foreign companies to participate in the country’s oil industry.

The US has in turn been easing sanctions previously imposed on Venezuelan entities, which has opened the door to greater integration with the global market and an increase in foreign currency earnings.

Venezuela’s economy is still struggling to recover from years of mismanagement, but Rodríguez insists things will turn around in the coming months, saying she expects more jobs and higher incomes.

On Thursday, US officials said the flight would contribute to Venezuela’s economy. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a press release that his department is working on adding more flights in the coming months and described Thursday’s flight as a “critical milestone” in strengthening US relations with Venezuela.

As of mid-2024, an estimated 764,000 Venezuelan migrants were living in the United States, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

Liz Rebecca Alarcón, a Venezuelan-American entrepreneur in the Miami area who founded the media outlet Project Pulso, welcomed the resumption of flights.

“Anything that brings the diaspora closer to people in Venezuela is positive news,” she said. “I hope American’s flights are fairly priced and that these changes are part of the transition to democracy we all want.”

Democratic transition

The US outlined to Venezuela a three-phase plan in January to guarantee stabilization, recovery and a democratic transition in the country.

Venezuela’s acting government has however shown little sign that it will give up power or call for new elections. “The elections will be held whenever they are, and on that day the revolutionary forces will be prepared to win as we have always won,” Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said earlier this month.

Venezuela’s opposition has said it will be ready for that moment. On Tuesday, opposition leader and Nobel Prize laureate María Corina Machado announced on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” her intention to run for president if an election were held.

“Certainly, I will offer myself … so that the Venezuelan people can choose freely what we want,” she said.

Machado has been holding direct talks with world leaders, including Trump, to court favor and rally support over the past few months.

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