TAP has cancelled today’s and next Tuesday’s TP170 flights to Venezuela, following information from US aviation authorities regarding the security situation in the country’s airspace, the company indicated.
In a statement sent to the Lusa news agency, TAP explains that the decision “stems from information issued by the aeronautical authorities of the United States of America, which indicates that safety conditions in Venezuelan airspace are not guaranteed, particularly in the Maquetia flight information zone.”
It states that “all passengers were informed of the cancellation and that they may, if they wish, request a refund,” regretting “the inconvenience caused” by a decision that “aims to guarantee the safety of passengers and crew.”
In addition to TAP, five other airlines canceled their flights to Venezuela today, after the United States warned civil aviation authorities of an “increase in military activity” as part of the deployment of US forces to the Caribbean, the president of the Venezuelan Airlines Association (ALAV), Marisela de Loaiza, told the France-Presse news agency.
The group that canceled air operations to the country led by Nicolas Maduro includes, in addition to TAP, the Spanish company Iberia, the Colombian Avianca, the Brazilian GOL and the Chilean Latam, as well as Caribbean Airlines from Trinidad and Tobago, he specified.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today issued a warning to commercial flight operators advising them to “exercise extreme caution” when flying over Venezuela and the southern Caribbean, due to what it considers “a potentially dangerous situation in the region.”
“Operators are advised to exercise extreme caution when operating in the Maiquetía flight information region [corresponding to airspace controlled by Venezuela, which also includes parts of the southern and eastern Caribbean] at all altitudes, due to the deteriorating security situation and increased military activity in or around Venezuela,” the FAA said in a statement.
“The threats could pose a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes, including during overflight, arrival and departure phases of flight,” he adds, noting that airports and aircraft on the ground in that region are also at risk.
Since August, Washington has maintained a significant military presence in the area, notably with half a dozen warships, officially to combat drug trafficking destined for the United States.
In recent weeks, the United States has carried out approximately 20 air strikes in the Caribbean and the Pacific against vessels that it accuses – without presenting evidence – of transporting drugs, causing a total of 76 casualties.
Venezuela accuses Washington of using the pretext of drug trafficking “to impose regime change” in Caracas and seize its oil.