U.S. Suspends All Flights to Venezuela
by Daniel McCarthy /
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) said Wednesday that it was suspending all air travel between the United States and Venezuela because of political turmoil.
U.S. DOT Secretary Elaine Chao made the announcement in an order issued Wednesday afternoon, citing Department of Homeland Security conclusions that “conditions in Venezuela threaten the safety and security of passengers, aircraft, and crew traveling to or from that country, and that the public interest requires an immediate suspension of all commercial passenger and cargo flights between the United States and Venezuela.”
American Airlines, the largest air carrier that provided service to Venezuela, had already suspended all its flights to Venezuela indefinitely at the end of March, citing unrest. America was the last major U.S. carrier to fly to Venezuela.
Venezuela currently holds a Level 4 travel advisory from the U.S. Department of State. Level 4 is the highest level of travel advisory and recommends that U.S. citizens “do not travel to Venezuela due to crime, civil unrest, poor health infrastructure, kidnapping, and arbitrary arrest and detention of U.S. citizens.”
The advisory had been raised to Level 4 since April 9.