The tour operator Pegas Touristik, one of the largest companies in the sector in Russiaannounced this Sunday that it will redirect to Varadero to tourists who had to travel to Venezuela.
The announcement occurs after US President Donald Trump reported on the total closure of Venezuelan airspace, amid growing tension between Washington and Caracas.
As indicated by the Association of Russian Tour Operators (ATOR), cited by the agency EFEPegas Touristik informed the partner agencies that the Moscow-Porlamar flight scheduled for Monday was canceled and a Moscow-Varadero flight was enabled in its place.
ATOR explained this decision due to “the potential threat to the security of civil flights in Venezuelan airspace due to the conflict with the United States.”
Pegas will offer tourists the options of staying in hotels of the same level or even higher class in Varadero, or in case they do not want to rest in Cuba, deposit the amount for use in future reservations.
The eventual measure comes at a time of sustained decline for the tourism sector on the island, which until October had received about 20% fewer visitors than in the same period in 2024. Russian tourism was experiencing the worst decline, with 36.2% below the previous year.
Tourism continues without taking off and registers its worst October in four years
When the situation normalizes
The director of Pegas Touristik, Ana Podgórnaya, indicated that flights to Venezuela will be restored as soon as the situation normalizes, the press report states.
In turn, the board reported that the Russian side will allocate a special flight for the return of all Russian tourists currently resting in Margarita.
Donald Trump declared this Saturday, through his Truth social network, the total closure of Venezuelan airspace.
“To all airlines, pilots, drug traffickers and human traffickers: we ask you to consider that the airspace over Venezuela and its surroundings will remain completely closed. Thank you for your attention! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP,” the president wrote without clarifying any circumstances related to the closure.
The message came after the newspaper The New York Times reported a telephone conversation between Trump and the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, to explore a possible meeting, a call that neither party has officially confirmed or denied.
The Venezuelan Government immediately repudiated “with absolute force” the message of the North American president and criticized that he “unusually” tried to “give orders and threaten the sovereignty” of this nation.
Trump warns that Venezuelan airspace be considered “completely closed”
Since September, the United States has maintained a naval and air deployment in the waters of the Caribbean Sea, near Venezuela, under the argument of combating drug trafficking.
The Trump Administration has linked President Maduro to the Cartel of the Suns, a group allegedly linked to drug trafficking.
In this context, Washington has bombed several boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific. These attacks have caused more than 80 deaths and have increased concerns about a possible war in the region.
EFE / OnCuba
