Venezuela says Caracas airport to reopen to commercial flights 'soon as possible'
The airport has been partially open to humanitarian flights since the earthquakes that killed more than 3,500 people, with authorities now planning to reopen commercial flights via an alternative runway.
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CARACUS: Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez said on Tuesday (Jul 7) the international airport damaged in last month's twin earthquakes would reopen as soon as possible using an alternative runway.
Simon Bolivar International Airport is in La Guaira, north of Caracas and epicentre of the June 24 quakes that toppled scores of residential buildings and killed more than 3,500 people.
The airport has been partially open to humanitarian flights.
"I ordered the immediate activation of an alternative plan to allow commercial flights to resume as soon as possible using the airport's parallel runway," Rodriguez said in a message on her Telegram account.
One of Latin America's worst earthquake disasters has left thousands of people homeless and thousands more still missing, especially in the badly damaged La Guaira area.
US airmen and military experts have been helping to reopen the airport and also repair the quake-hit port in La Guaira to help delivery of supplies and equipment.
Speaking to reporters on a conference call, US embassy Charge d'Affaires John Barrett said US officials were already in talks with American commercial airlines to resume flights.
"There is some work to do in terms of the infrastructure to support commercial operations at the airport," he said, without giving a precise date.
US Southern Command chief General Francis Donovan said US military personnel were still assisting with air traffic control and ground cargo operations at the airport.
Around 2,000 troops have been deployed in Venezuela to help with disaster relief, and US helicopters and planes often land at the airport.
The USS Fort Lauderdale naval vessel is also docked at La Guaira port to help with aid deliveries.
Nearly two weeks after the 7.3 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes, international rescue teams are ending attempts to find survivors while families scour the ruins for the bodies of their loved ones.
Thousands are now homeless and sleeping in tents outside destroyed buildings or in temporary camps for those who have been displaced.
"They looted the supermarket so they are not opening anymore," said Estefany Suarez, a mother of two young children who is living out of a tent.
"I am hoping I can stay in La Guaira, I don't want to end up in one of the camps."
Two days after the quakes, the United Nations estimated as many as 50,000 people were still unaccounted for, though the government has yet to give any estimate on the number of missing.
Even before the disaster, Venezuela was struggling with economic crisis and political turmoil that left infrastructure and health services depleted.
Rodriguez came to power in January after then-president Nicolas Maduro was captured in a US military operation in Caracas.
The UN estimates the quakes caused US$6.7 billion in damage - equivalent to six percent of the GDP of Venezuela, a major oil producer.
The UN refugee agency has said it needs an estimated US$14.85 million to scale up protection, relief items and temporary shelter support for 30,000 earthquake-affected people over six months.
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