CARACAS – A landmark event is set to unfold on Thursday as the first direct commercial flight from the United States to Venezuela touches down in Caracas, seven years after flights were halted due to security concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
This renewed air link between the two nations follows a dramatic turn of events earlier this year, where the U.S. captured Nicolás Maduro during a daring nighttime operation in the heart of Caracas.
The flight also coincides with the recent reopening of the U.S. embassy in Venezuela, marking a significant step in the reestablishment of full diplomatic relations between the countries.
Flight AA3599, operated by Envoy Air under the American Airlines banner, is scheduled to take off from Miami at 10:16 a.m. and make its way to the Venezuelan capital in roughly three hours, before returning to Florida later that day.
The airline has also announced plans to introduce a second daily flight connecting Miami and Caracas, with operations set to commence on May 21.
In a statement from late January, U.S. President Donald Trump shared that he had communicated with Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez, expressing intentions to fully open commercial airspace over Venezuela to American travelers.
“American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they’ll be safe there,” Trump said at the time.
The flights mark the resumption of nonstop travel between the U.S. and Venezuela for the first time since diplomatic ties were severed in 2019. For the past seven years, passengers have relied on international airlines and indirect routes through neighboring Latin American countries.
In January, when the airline announced the resumption of flights it said it would give customers the opportunity to reunite with families and pursue new business opportunities.
American Airlines was the last U.S. airline flying to Venezuela. It suspended flights in 2019 between Miami and Caracas, as well as flights to the oil hub city of Maracaibo. Delta and United Airlines pulled out in 2017 amid a political crisis that forced millions to flee the country.
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