Some weeks ago Avianca ended its services to Venezuela (July 27) ahead of a previously planned date of August 16 following a series of incidents including, according to media reports, staff held up at gun point, luggage theft, poor runway maintenance and contaminated fuel.
Avianca stated on July 27 that “due to operational limitations during past hours, Avianca is under the obligation to suspend its operations to Venezuela as of today, and NOT August 16 as it had been planned. This includes closing the sale of tickets on the routes that connect Caracas with Bogota and Lima.” The statement added that this measure was taken with the intention of “preserving safety.”
This was followed by an announcement from a Delta Air Lines spokesperson who confirmed to Reuters that the airline would suspend its once per week service between Atlanta and Caracas, with the final southbound flight scheduled for Sept. 16, 2017.
Now we see reports and images of National Guards pulling suitcases off flights to loot them and an apparent assassination of a man at the check-in desk at the airport.
The once vibrant Caracas airport is rapidly falling into disrepair and there are now so few flights on offer that prices are being ramped up – those airlines charging $1,000 for economy flights to Miami will become a target of anger and hate in the weeks to come, with many seeing it as exploitation.
So how long can Aerolineas Argentinas and American Airlines keep flying to Caracas?
Meanwhile, European traffic is being curtailed by a heatwave, water shortages, terror fears and the fall in GBP. Traffic in Asia has not shown significant signs of falling back due to the Korean crisis, but it will as the Japanese tourist sector will be among the first to take fright at the seemingly real threats to Guam and Seoul of late. Yet, it is Venezuela that has fallen the most of all areas of concern and which will be in the abyss for many years to come.