Venezuela was one of the most important air hubs in the region in the 1970s and could be so again in this new stage that opened in the country with the capture of Nicolás Maduro in January by the United States, the regional vice president for the Americas of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Peter Cerdá, told EFE this Thursday.
“At that time, Caracas was one of the most important hubs we had in the region, above airports like Bogotá, Lima or even São Paulo,” said Cerdá, who is in Santiago participating in the ‘IATA, Wings of Change Americas’ forum.
The reopening of the Venezuelan sky and the economic opportunities that are emerging in the country “in the oil sector and in other industries” could make Venezuela recover in the future the air potential it had decades ago, according to Cerdá, who is also CEO of the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA).
Last November, Venezuelan air connectivity was affected after the United States asked for extreme precautions when flying over Venezuela in the face of what it considered “a potentially dangerous situation” in the midst of its military deployment in the Caribbean Sea.
In this context, several airlines canceled their trips and, in response, the Venezuelan Ministry of Transportation and the aeronautical institute revoked the flight concession to Iberia, TAP, Avianca, Latam Colombia, Turkish Airlines, Gol, Air Europa and Plus Ultra, but all announced the resumption of their flights at the end of February.
On January 29, US President Donald Trump announced the reopening of air connections with Venezuela, after a call with the president in charge of the South American country, Delcy Rodríguez, who took office after the capture of Nicolás Maduro by the United States on January 3 in Caracas.
This same Thursday, the American airline American Airlines announced that it plans to begin offering daily direct flights between the United States and Venezuela as of April 30, when the necessary government and security procedures are completed.
«Geographically, Caracas is located in a perfect position to be a distribution center between Europe and the region or between North America and other parts of Latin America. What was in the past, there is no reason why it cannot be in the future, if the conditions are met,” he stressed.
The manager pointed out that expectations about Venezuela are framed in the “great interest” that the region is arousing in the world.
«Latin America is developing in a very positive way and that requires greater connectivity. Not only for tourist reasons, but also for economic reasons, work, business opportunities,” he added.
