Venezuela‘s aviation authorities announced the revocation of permits of up to six airlines – including Turkey’s state-owned Turkish Airlines – which they accused of “terrorism” for suspending routes and flights to Caracas, following US warnings about increased military activity in the region.
According to Turkish media reports, Venezuela’s civil aviation authority announced on 26 November that Iberia of Spain, TAP of Portugal, Avianca of Colombia, the LATAM group of Chile and Brazil, Brazililian GOL and Turkish Airlines of Turkey will lose their authorisations for “joining the actions of state terrorism promoted by the USA government and unilaterally suspending commercial air operations”.
The move comes after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) urged civilian aircraft operating in Venezuelan airspace to “exercise extreme caution” in light of the “worsening security situation and increased military activity in or around Venezuela“. The Venezuelan transport ministry then gave the airlines 48 hours – until noon on 26 November – to resume flights. However, all the six airlines maintained the suspension of their activity.
According to the Venezuelan Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (AVAVIT), the suspension of routes to Venezuela has already affected more than 8,000 passengers on at least 40 flights. Turkish Airlines, one of the airlines now banned, had announced the temporary suspension of its connection between Istanbul and Caracas from 24 to 28 November, while Iberia announced that it intends to resume flights as soon as the security of Venezuelan airspace is guaranteed. For the time being, the permits of two other Spanish airlines, Air Europa and Plus Ultra, which have also halted operations, have not been officially revoked.
VOTE
EDITORIAL TEAM
🧿 About us
.
Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
…
📣 Your ADVERTISING on Hispanatolia
.
🤗 HELP US WITH A DONATION:
💗 Paypal
