The Fir Maiquetía is not Venezuelan airspace, although many confuse it. It is a technical responsibility zone where Venezuela controls air traffic, but extends beyond its sovereign borders
In the context of the unusual military deployment of the United States in the Caribbean for an anti -narcotics operation, the discussion on the limits of Venezuelan airspace has resurfaced, particularly in relation to the Fir Maiquetía (Maiquetía flight information region).
The fir maiquetía, established by international regulation, is essentially the area of airspace that controls the maiquetía control tower. Under this regulation, Venezuela has the operational responsibility to carry out air control tasks within this area, providing traffic and communication services to all the aircraft.
In accordance with the norms of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), The FIR does not define sovereignty, but technical responsibility. This means that the Nation in charge of the FIR must guarantee the safety and coordination of flights in that region, but does not have sovereign rights over the entire area included in the area.
In an interview with Night dprogram transmitted by TalcualInternational Security and Defense Analyst Andrei Serbin Pont, president of the Regional Coordinator of Economic and Social Research (CRIES), explained the importance of distinguishing between the flight information zone and the Venezuelan sovereign airspace.
«The area of responsibility of the fir maiquetía considerably exceeds the borders and the limits of the Venezuelan territory. The aircraft that travel through the FIR have the obligation to identify and communicate with the control tower in Venezuela, although this does not imply that they are flying over Venezuelan space, ”said Serbin Pont during the conversation.
He added that military flights in peace or cooperation operations are usually identified or maintained by their transponder (issuer), in accordance with international protocols.
This Thursday, October 2, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López denounced “Military harassment” for the flight of “combat planes” of the United States near the Venezuelan coasts in the Caribbean Sea. He did not specify the date on which these actions would have occurred. “That was proven and verified by information that gave us an international airline in the Maiquetía Control Tower.” He added that they have flown to 35,000 feet high.
Venezuelan airspace, in contrast to the FIR, has an internationally regulated technical definition. In the case of Venezuela, it is the air area over the territorial sea, which extends for 12 nautical miles from the Venezuelan coasts.
Serbin Pont said that a violation of Venezuelan airspace can only be considered as such when an aircraft enters sovereign territory without authorization and does not respond to the calls of the Fir Maiquetía to identify. In that case, a deployment of Bolivarian military aviation would correspond to carry out an interception and try to establish communication.
In practice, pilots entering the Fir Maiquetía must communicate with the air controllers of the INAC or the Maiquetía tower, providing flight data, altitude and route plan. This identification does not imply political authorization, but an air security coordination according to ICAO standards.
Serbin Pont stressed that, in this context, it is essential to distinguish between “air control zone” and “sovereign space” to correctly interpret the official communications that denounce alleged “violations.” In many cases, these occur outside the territorial limits of Venezuela, but within its flight information zone, an area that is under its operational responsibility, but not under its sovereign jurisdiction.
On the relevance of seeing military aircraft operating in the area, Serbin Pont concluded that if it were not for the current military deployment in the Caribbean, The presence of an American military aircraft in the Fir Maiquetía “would probably not attract our attention.”
Here you can see the part of the program where Serbin Pont comments on the differences between airspace and fir maiquetía:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw0msucs7oo
*Also read: How far the Sovereignty of Venezuela comes in the sea and what happens to US ships
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