First commercial flight from US to Venezuela takes off after 7 years

Flight AA3599 operated by Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines, departed from Miami just after 10 a.m. local time.

The first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela is scheduled to land on Thursday in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, seven years after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ordered an indefinite suspension, citing security concerns.

Flight AA3599 operated by Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines, departed from Miami just after 10 a.m. local time and is scheduled to arrive three hours later in the Venezuelan capital, returning to Florida later in the afternoon.

“I’m very excited to go and see the family and I’m looking forward to see the country,” said passenger Lennart Ochoa of Miami shortly before boarding. He said that he was “ready to go” and got his ticket as soon as they were available.

American Airlines staff handed passengers small Venezuelan flags. Balloons with its colors — yellow, blue and red — adorned the gate door leading to the plane.

"Through the inaugural weekend, customers will enjoy a special Venezuelan menu on board, including cachapas, ensalada de gallina and a Venezuelan chocolate candy bar," the airline said in a news release.

The resumption of a commercial flight between the two countries comes in the wake of the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro in a stunning nighttime raid on his residence in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, in early January.

It also comes a month after the U.S. formally reopened its embassy in Caracas following the restoration of full diplomatic relations with the South American country.

The airline said a second daily flight between Miami and Caracas will start on May 21.

In late January, U.S. President Donald Trump said he informed Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez that he would open up all commercial airspace over Venezuela, allowing Americans to visit.

“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.

“Parents will be able to connect with children, grandparents with grandchildren, and entire families with a home that shaped and raised them,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a news conference before boarding started. “Miami-Dade is home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States.”