The ESA issued a new “high recommendation” not to fly over the Venezuelan sky, at least until January 31; and both Iberia and Plus Ultra have announced the suspension of their operations from Spain until that date, while Air Europa has canceled them until at least January 18
Air operations between Spain and Venezuela will remain at a minimum, at least until mid-January, when a month has passed since the first suspension of flights after the recommendations in that regard from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Spanish Aviation Safety Agency (AESA).
Following the first recommendation from the United States authority, in the last week of November, the AESA issued its notices in the same direction, which led Iberia, first, and then Air Europa and Plus Ultra to suspend their flights between Madrid and Caracas until December 31.
Last Tuesday, December 23, the AESA issued a new “high recommendation” not to fly over the Venezuelan sky, at least until January 31; and both Iberia and Plus Ultra have announced the suspension of their operations until that date, while Air Europa has canceled them until at least January 18.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) had warned in early December of the risks of operating in Venezuela until January 31.
The FAA recommended that airlines at the end of November not fly over the Maiquetía area, the airspace controlled by Venezuela, which also includes part of the Caribbean, and urged them to “exercise caution” in the face of “a potentially dangerous situation in the region” after the North American military deployment in the area.
“Threats could pose a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes, including during overflight, arrival and departure phases of flight,” the FAA said.
Little impact for Iberia, greater for Plus Ultra
For the airlines that link Madrid with Caracas, the weight of this segment in the business is uneven: for Iberia it barely represents 1.7% of long-haul seats (126,000 to Venezuela out of 7.46 million this year) and for Air Europa “it represents many losses and many problems for users,” according to its president, Juan José Hidalgo.
However, Plus Ultra, which has not provided figures either, has its business highly concentrated in Latin America and, especially, in Venezuela.
Iberia usually has five weekly frequencies between Madrid and Caracas (10 flights in total), the same as Air Europa, while Plus Ultra has four (one of them between Tenerife and the Venezuelan capital).
For its part, Laser (which rents Plus Ultra planes and crews) has four and Estelar (with Iberojet planes under lease) has three.
Plus Ultra has enabled a Madrid-Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) flight that has been operating since Wednesday, December 10, and will allow its customers to connect with flights from the Colombian city to Caracas served by Laser.
The Venezuelan airline Estelar also announced a route between Venezuela and Spain, with a stopover in Barbados, which began operating on December 8.
After announcing these suspensions, the three airlines of Spain, the Portuguese TAP, the Colombian Avianca and Latam, the Brazilian Gol and the Turkish Turkish Airlines received the suspension of their flight licenses in Venezuela by order of the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics (INAC).
With information from EFE
*Journalism in Venezuela is carried out in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments in place to punish the word, especially the laws “against hate”, “against fascism” and “against the blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
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