In the latent war that now characterises the relationship between the United States and Venezuela, the Trump administration has decided to attack the airlines. On Saturday 29 November, Donald Trump warned airlines to avoid Venezuela's airspace from now on. He wrote on his Truth Social network, without giving any further details: " To all airlines, pilots, drug traffickers and human traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND AROUND VENEZUELA TO BE COMPLETELY CLOSED. ".
The warning follows an alert from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which warned the main carriers against a " potentially dangerous situation "over the South American country. In particular, the FAA cited a " heightened security situation and increased military activity in or around the city "of the country. Caracas condemned Trump's message as an "act of aggression". colonial threat "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that it was a " illegal and unjustified aggression against the Venezuelan people ".
The consequences were immediate. The Venezuelan skies immediately emptied, even though the local authorities have kept them open. In fact, the airlines decided to suspend their services, not wanting to find themselves in the clutches of the American air force in the event of an intervention. And probably also to avoid US trade retaliation.
The Venezuelan presidency has indicated that it is working on emergency plans to enable its citizens to enter or leave the country. Caracas said it had " activated all multilateral mechanisms in accordance with international law" .
Retaliatory measures and ban on six companies
But the country has also introduced restrictive measures for carriers landing in Caracas. In particular, new operational requirements force airlines to submit detailed flight manifests earlier than usual. And to coordinate closely with the Venezuelan authorities. Any failure to comply with these measures will be penalised.
Venezuela has banned six major international airlines from landing in the country after they failed to meet a 48-hour deadline to resume their flights, following the Trump threat.
The airlines concerned are Iberia, TAP Air Portugal and Turkish Airlines in Europe. But also Avianca, Latam Colombia and Brazil's Go in South America. These are all carriers whose absence closes Caracas off a little more to the rest of the world.
