The first commercial flight to Venezuela from the United States in seven years departed on April 30 as American Airlines flew nearly 100 passengers to Caracas from Miami.
“History is being made today,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X.
“[American Airlines] is now in the air. Thank you to my team … for the quick work to reopen the Venezuela airspace safely and resume these flights! This means a big economic opportunity for America and Venezuela.”
Flight AA3599 departed at 10:11 a.m., about five minutes ahead of schedule, after the airline reinstated flights between Miami International Airport and Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas, using an Embraer 175 aircraft belonging to its Envoy subsidiary.
Passengers boarded the flight as airline staff handed them small Venezuelan flags. Yellow, blue, and red balloons greeted them at the gates leading to the plane before they left for the three-hour flight. The plane was expected to return to Florida later that day.
“American’s Miami hub is the preeminent U.S. gateway to Latin America, and our service to Venezuela is a key part of our history and our future,” American Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Nat Pieper said in a statement earlier this month.
American Airlines began operating flights to Venezuela in 1987 and was the largest U.S. airline to do so before suspending service in 2019 because of security and passenger safety concerns.
U.S. Transportation Undersecretary Ryan McCormack joined American Airlines executives, Venezuelan Ambassador to the United States Félix Plasencia, and Miami-Dade County and State Department officials for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the event.
“This flight will directly contribute to Venezuela’s economic recovery,” McCormack said in a statement.
Other U.S. airlines have expressed interest in restoring flights to Caracas and other locations in Venezuela, which will be reviewed, according to the Transportation Department.
In January, U.S. President Donald Trump directed the U.S. Transportation Department to reopen Venezuelan airspace and explore opportunities to restore commercial flights between the two countries.
“American citizens will be, very shortly, able to go to Venezuela—and they’ll be safe there,” Trump said.
Full diplomatic and consular relations have been restored to the country.
Later that month, American Airlines announced its plans to reinstate daily nonstop service.
The reopening of the flights follows the successful U.S. operation to capture former ruler Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cecilia Adela Flores de Maduro, in a nighttime operation on Jan. 3. The couple faces criminal charges related to narco-terrorism in the United States.
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