Kamal Ghorui
The first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela in seven years was scheduled to land in Caracas on Thursday, marking a major step in the restoration of travel links between the two countries after years of disruption, AP reported.The resumption of nonstop service comes months after the US capture of then President Nicolás Maduro in January and a month after Washington formally reopened its embassy in Caracas following the restoration of full diplomatic ties.Flight AA3599, operated by Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines, was scheduled to depart Miami at 10:16 am EDT and arrive in the Venezuelan capital around three hours later, before returning to Florida in the afternoon.American Airlines staff handed passengers small Venezuelan flags before departure, while balloons in the country’s national colours — yellow, blue and red — decorated the boarding gate.“I’m very excited to go and see the family and I’m looking forward to see the country,” passenger Lennart Ochoa of Miami said shortly before boarding.He added that he was “ready to go” and booked his ticket as soon as they became available.American Airlines earlier said a second daily flight between Miami and Caracas will begin on May 21.The flights mark the return of direct commercial travel between the US and Venezuela for the first time since diplomatic relations were severed in 2019.For the past seven years, travellers relied on indirect routes via neighbouring Latin American countries and international carriers.American Airlines was the last US airline operating in Venezuela before suspending flights in 2019 between Miami and Caracas, as well as services to oil hub Maracaibo.Delta and United Airlines had already exited the market in 2017 during Venezuela’s political crisis, which forced millions to leave the country.When it announced the restart earlier this year, American Airlines said the flights would allow customers to reunite with family members and explore business opportunities.“Parents will be able to connect with children, grandparents with grandchildren, and entire families with a home that shaped and raised them,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said before boarding began.“Miami-Dade is home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States,” she added.
