Delta Air Lines is developing plans to return to Venezuela after an absence of nine years, as American Airlines seeks broader authority to expand its network between the two countries.
Speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit – Latin America and the Caribbean in Panama City earlier this month, Alex Antilla, Delta's vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean, said the market offered significant long-term potential, though recent earthquake damage had delayed progress.
“Before, I think Venezuela and Colombia market sizes were basically the same, and now Venezuela is a fraction of it. The growth potential is huge,” Antilla said.
“We have a lot of plans at Delta to serve Venezuela. Obviously, things are being worked out, and the earthquake just put things back a little bit, but it'll be a big market for the industry going forward,” he said.
Delta last served Venezuela in September 2017, when it discontinued its weekly Atlanta-Caracas route amid deteriorating economic conditions and weak demand.
The potential resumption follows the return of American Airlines in April, ending a period of almost seven years without scheduled service by a U.S. carrier. American initially resumed daily Miami-Caracas flights and has since added daily service between Miami and Maracaibo.
Data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser shows that American intends to increase Caracas-Miami to 2X-daily by December, while Venezuelan carrier Laser Airlines is also scheduled to provide daily Caracas-Miami flights. United Airlines previously planned to restore daily Houston-Caracas flights from Aug. 11 using Boeing 737-8 aircraft, but the route has been pushed back until January 2027.
American and its subsidiary Envoy Air are also seeking broader authority to expand their U.S.-Venezuela networks. In a joint application filed with the U.S. Transportation Department, the carriers have requested permission to transport passengers, cargo and mail between the two countries under the bilateral air services agreement.
Envoy already holds authority for Miami-Caracas and Miami-Maracaibo, while American has existing rights covering routes from Miami and the New York-Newark area to Caracas and Maracaibo, as well as Puerto Rico-Caracas. American has also previously received exemptions for Dallas Fort Worth-Caracas and Miami-Valencia.
However, the new application seeks all authority available to U.S. airlines under the bilateral, giving both American and Envoy flexibility to open additional routes. The carriers have requested approval for at least two years.
The expansion of the market follows a shift in relations between Washington and Caracas and U.S. Transportation Department exemptions allowing scheduled passenger operations to resume. Commercial air services between the countries had been suspended by the U.S. government in May 2019 because of security concerns.
Sabre Market Intelligence data highlights the opportunity in the U.S.-Venezuela market. An estimated 71,200 two-way O&D passengers traveled between the countries during the 12 months through August 2026, compared with about 7,900 in the preceding year. However, the latest total remained about 88% below the nearly 602,000 passengers recorded in 2018.
Despite this, the market’s recovery has been complicated by the June 24 earthquakes, which damaged Caracas’ main airport and forced international airlines to divert operations to Arturo Michelena International Airport in Valencia.
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