“We want flight dates, we want flight dates!” The never seen before in Havana: a crowd demanded information out loud from the directors of Conviasa, the flag line of the Bolivarian revolution, in front of their offices in the Cuban capital. All those present wish to leave the island following the government of Daniel Ortega has facilitated immigration procedures in collusion with the Cuban government.
Cubans who want to flee their country, turned into a pressure cooker, have placed their hopes in the planes of the flag carrier of the third revolution, a close ally of the Cuban and Nicaraguan. Like the three musketeers, all together.
Almost at the same time as the unusual protest in Havana, another Conviasa flight left Caracas for Buenos Aires. Inside, Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia, ready to represent to Venezuela at the Celac summit in which Argentina assumed the presidency of the bloc.
It is a well-known aircraft among Venezuelan aeronautical experts, the presidential Airbus 319, which is followed everywhere, especially on Nicolás Maduro’s constant trips to Cuba. It was also the aircraft used by the “son of Chávez” to travel by surprise to Mexico in October, on the occasion of another Celac summit.
#Now || The chancellor @PlasenciaFelix Up to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he will participate in the XXII Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States #Celac @PPT_CELAC pic.twitter.com/sJJPaIpKoE
– Venezuela Foreign Ministry ???????? (@CancilleriaVE) January 7, 2022
Conviasa, the official plane in disguise
In reality, Conviasa flight YV2984 is a disguise used by the revolution despite the sanctions issued by the United States in February 2020 once morest the airline and 40 of its aircraft to make it difficult for the “officials of the regime to travel around the world to promote their anti-democratic efforts. ‘
Also 15 planes from the Venezuelan Petroleum flotilla (PDVSA), in which not only the leaders of Chavismo travel, but also international allies such as the former head of the Spanish government José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, are sanctioned by the Treasury Department. One of them also landed at Aeroparque last November: it was carrying former Bolivian president Evo Morales.
What is the reason for the costume of Maduro’s plane? Unofficial sources confirmed THE NATION that behind this strategy there is above all a matter of political image, similar to what Cuban authorities carry out with official flights aboard Cubana de Aviación. There are no legal reasons, despite the sanctions and the 15 million dollars for any information that leads to Maduro’s arrest, still in force.
The Venezuelan government is interested, on the one hand, in promoting the Conviasa flag and, on the other, not appearing as a beneficiary of the luxuries of such a private plane. These flights are not commercial, they are State flights, although they are labeled with the colors and name of Conviasa. Therefore it is excluded from the regulations of commercial flights.
The return of Conviasa
Beyond these questions, the Venezuelan Consortium of Aeronautical Industries and Air Services (Conviasa) has made a strong comeback following the first two years of the pandemic. The world turned upside down: when the sector suffered the most, there was the Bolivarian airline trying to take flight.
A set of positive news that started to get stained in December when one of his flights to Santiago de Chile became a trend on social networks because of the sewage that overflowed one of the bathrooms and invaded the cabin. The Chavista media tried to hide the issue, blaming the Avior company, whose aircraft was used in the Conviasa flight.
Something similar happened in the controversial flights that stranded for days to hundreds of people in Ezeiza, the Bolivian Viru Viru airport (Santa Cruz de la Sierra) and Maiquetía, in Venezuela. According to industry sources, the sanctions make flights to certain destinations difficult, where aircraft cannot be hired either; and Conviasa is forced to resort to renting.
#28Dic We inform our users that tomorrow 12/29/2021 the frequency will operate on the Caracas-Ezeiza route, while on 12/30/2021 the Ezeiza-Caracas flight will be executed. This is due to the fact that the (ANAC) of Argentina granted the permits to carry out the operation pic.twitter.com/mXk8Bb7mQv
– Conviasa Airline (@LAConviasa) December 28, 2021
Too many accumulated incidents
The authorities intend to link the supposed economic recovery of Venezuela to the resurgence of its flag airline, which has not only promised flights to Managua and Havana, but also to Moscow, Panama City, Cancun, Madrid, Lima or Santiago, among others.
Despite everything, “2021 has been one of the best years for Conviasa.” «It has reached the best expansion process since its creation in 2005. I think it will continue the same dynamic, it is seeking greater prominence and prominence in operations from Venezuela and within the country.
In fact, at the end of November an alliance between Conviasa and the rest of the airlines that are not subject to sanctions was discussed to help in this expansion process. An alliance to exchange aircraft. There is a glimpse of what Conviasa is looking for in 2022: a projection into the future to emerge as a flag airline, although that is a rusty concept. “The government wants Conviasa to be the face in transportation,” he told THE NATION the lawyer and aeronautical expert Rodolfo Ruiz.
#22Dic We leave you a sample of what it is like to travel in our first class. This service will allow you to enjoy:
• Reclining seats to have a better rest.
• Each seat space has connections for your mobile devices
• Personalized attention pic.twitter.com/W28s6nTEG1– Conviasa Airline (@LAConviasa) December 22, 2021
The millionaire debts of the Venezuelan State
The collapse of the revolution also took the aeronautical sector in Venezuela, including international companies forced to leave the country due to the millionaire debts acquired by the Maduro government. Debts that the vast majority have not been paid and that have weighed down their finances.
From the sector the government is accused of torpedoing the different companies to favor its Conviasa, currently led by the former minister and general Ramón Velásquez.
“In the end, the United States sanctions have impaired the development of Conviasa for different reasons, such as the training of its pilots, the provision of spare parts or the supply of fuel at some airports. But surprisingly they have managed to handle it and it has not been an obstacle to their growth experienced this year. The government seeks to put Conviasa at the top of the national transportation pyramid, “Ruiz concluded.
The Grupo de Diarios América (GDA), to which El Nacional belongs, is a leading media network founded in 1991, which promotes democratic values, independent press and freedom of expression in Latin America through quality journalism for our hearings.
