Iberia has canceled operations with Venezuela until December 31according to the new recommendation of the Aviation Safety Agency (AESA) this Monday, and thus extends the suspension decided on November 29, sources from the Spanish airline told Efe.
They indicated that Iberia’s intention is resume flights to Venezuela “as soon as full security guarantees are recovered”.
Sources from the Spanish air navigation manager (Enaire) confirmed that this Monday they have published two new alerts, with a “strong recommendation” (sic) to civil operators not to fly over the FIR (regions into which the airspace is divided) of Maiquetía, which serves Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.
Iberia and other airlines monitor the situation with Venezuela
The new EASA notice comes after the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) warned on Saturday about the risks of flying in Venezuela until January 31.
Iberia was the first Spanish company to announce the suspension after the new notice from the AESA, although Air Europa already announced over the weekend that it was canceling the two flights (one outbound and one return) scheduled for this Tuesday.
Plus Ultra, the other airline that flies from Spain directly to Caracas, continues to monitor the situation, company sources told Efe.
The Spanish airline, integrated into the European group IAG, offers affected customers the possibility of changing their flights to another date, to another nearby destination or request a refund of the ticket amount.
At the Madrid airport there are passengers who are still waiting for a connection to fly to Venezuela through links with other capitals, especially Colombia.
Over the weekend, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, said on the social network Truth that the Venezuelan airspace would remain closed “in its entirety”in the midst of growing tension between both countries and a large North American military deployment in the Caribbean.
However, the airspace is not closed, a matter that is exclusively the responsibility of the Venezuelan authorities, according to the spokesperson for the Spanish air traffic controllers union USCA, Susana Romero, told the media.
