This Thursday, April 30, American Airlines flight AA3599 became the first commercial plane, since 2019, to travel directly from the United States to Venezuela, seven years after the White House Department of Homeland Security ordered an indefinite suspension, citing security reasons.
First modification: 04/30/2026 - 20:26
Non-stop air routes between the United States and Venezuela are possible again this Thursday, after seven years of inoperability and almost four months after the capture of Chavista leader Nicolás Maduro by the United States, in a surprise operation in Caracas in the early hours of January 3.
Air flow is also reestablished, a month after the United States formally reopened its embassy in Caracas after the reestablishment of full diplomatic relations with Venezuela.
"I'm very excited to go see my family and I really want to see the country," said passenger Lennart Ochoa, from Miami, shortly before boarding. The man declared himself "ready to go" before commenting that he bought his ticket as soon as they were available. "Being able to go see my family on a direct flight from Miami to Caracas is priceless."
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The director of the US National Energy Domain Council, Jarrod Agen, was also among the passengers on the inaugural flight. Agen plans to meet with Venezuelan officials and executives from the energy and mining sectors, according to the Venezuelan Government, within the framework of the Donald Trump Administration's efforts to facilitate the entry of American companies to the South American country.
At Miami International Airport, American Airlines staff handed out small Venezuelan flags to passengers. Balloons with the tricolor flag adorned the boarding gate.
Flight AA3599, operated by American Airlines subsidiary Envoy Air, took off from Miami at 10:11 a.m. (local time), five minutes ahead of schedule, according to flight departure information from Miami International Airport. The aircraft landed approximately three hours later in the Venezuelan capital and returned to Florida that same afternoon.
Previously, the airline announced that a second daily flight between Miami and Caracas will begin operating from May 21.
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A promise from Donald Trump to Delcy Rodríguez
At the end of last January, the US president, Donald Trump, commented that he had informed the interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, that he would open all commercial airspace over the country.
"American citizens will be able to travel to Venezuela very soon and they will be safe there," said the Republican leader at that time.
Trump's words materialized this Thursday with the landing of the American Airlines plane, the first since diplomatic relations were broken in 2019. For the last seven years, passengers have depended on international airlines and indirect routes through neighboring Latin American countries.
In January, when the airline announced the resumption of flights, it highlighted that it would give customers the opportunity to reunite with their families and pursue new business opportunities.
American Airlines was the last American company to fly to Venezuela. It suspended flights between Miami and Caracas in 2019, as well as routes to the oil city of Maracaibo. Delta and United Airlines pulled out in 2017 amid a deep political, economic and social crisis that forced millions of people to flee the country.
"Parents will be able to connect with their children, grandparents with their grandchildren, and entire families with the home that formed and raised them (...) Miami-Dade is home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States," celebrated Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava at a press conference before boarding began.
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