2023-07-30 23:55:00
This first semester of 2023 has been positive for the Venezuelan air sector with the incorporation of new national and international routes, activating more destinations and connections that had been abandoned for some time, as well as new ones that improve mobility inside and outside the country, despite the restrictions that exist in some countries for the arrival of Venezuelan planes, as is the case of the direct connection between the United States and Venezuela, which is still prohibited.
However, this situation has led to increased movement at airports such as Tocumen in Panama and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, to connect with the northern airports.
According to Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (Alta), this year the air operation in Venezuela has reached more than 2,400 domestic flights, which represents a growth of 58% compared to 2019.
The Venezuelan Airlines Association, Alav, on its website, highlights the presence of new airlines in the Venezuelan air market, as well as the return of many that were at our airports, who left and are now returning.
So far there are 11 foreign airlines that fly to Venezuela, to the airports of Maiquetía, Maracaibo, Porlamar, Barcelona, Barquisimeto and Valencia. Caribbean Airlines, Copa Airlines, Satena and SkyHigh operate from Latin America and the Caribbean, and Air Europa, Iberia, Plus Ultra, TAP Portugal and Turkish Airlines operate to and from Europe and Asia.
international connection
Tap Air Portugal, Iberia, Air Europa and Plus Ultra returned with more frequencies, opening more direct routes to Europe and hope to incorporate other routes. New ones such as Turkish Airlines, which directly connects Venezuela with the Middle East and Asia, entered the market with a significant number of frequencies, consolidating the tourism sector and commercial exchange.
Connections with our neighbors to the south, such as Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Chile have also been activated and today we have direct connections to Bogotá, Manaus, Lima, Guayaquil, Buenos Aires, Cancún, México City and Santiago de Chili.
It will soon be on the Santa Cruz, Bolivia routes, with a direct connection through Conviasa.
Flights to Panama were opened to Central America and the Caribbean, with daily frequencies to and from Tocumen Airport, connecting with Caracas, Barquisimeto (Lara), Valencia (Carabobo), Maracaibo (Zulia) and Barcelona (Anzoátegui).
Another air connection to Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) was added, through the Dominican Sky High Aviation Services, which has daily flights, although national companies such as Avior Airlines, Conviasa, Rutaca, Turpial Airlines, Venezolana and Laser Airlines continue to serve this market.
Trinidad and Tobago is now connected to Venezuela, thanks to Caribbean Airlines, which began to fly Maiquetía-Puerto España once a week.
Havana (Cuba) maintains its direct flights through Conviasa and now with a connection to Russia, on the Caracas-Havana-Moscow route.
Another one that returns after 7 years is Latam Airline, which plans to connect Caracas with Lima (Peru) next August, in a first stage. It plans to occupy 2,436 seats per week between both destinations with this direct flight offer, reveals the airline on its website.
It must be remembered that this airline operated until 2016, from and to Santiago de Chile. Lima, Guayaquil and Sao Paulo.
The Colombian airline Wingo began its Bogotá-Caracas operations and hopes to expand its route to Valencia and Maracaibo and incorporate two more cities in Colombia, including Medellín and Barranquilla, highlighted the CEO of the airline Eduardo Lombana.
With the entry of Wingo and the Venezuelan Laser Airlines, which will begin its Bogotá-Caracas flights, they hope to cover the demand for this route, which will be expanded when Avianca and Latam obtain permits from the Venezuelan aeronautical authority to cover the route, and Wingo obtain the permits for new destinations.
local connection
The domestic air market has had significant growth with the opening of new destinations by setting up air terminals, which were without operations during the two years of the pandemic. One could speak of Mérida, San Félix, Puerto Ordaz, Araure, Guanare, San Fernando de Apure, Puerto Ayacucho, Barcelona, among others.
In this way, the economic reactivation of the regions is promoted, giving travelers more options on vacations, family reunions, or business. It stands out that Porlamar is the destination with the highest growth in air mobilization, to which are added the frequencies of international flights, which to date has shown a growth of 36%, reveals the Latin American and Caribbean Association of Air Transport, Alta.
Another connection that has had significant growth is Maracaibo-Caracas, which out of 124 flights in 2019 already exceeds the 249 frequencies carried out this year.
The air market has incorporated new routes and consolidated other destinations, such as Barcelona, Barquisimeto, Los Roques, Maturín and Puerto Ordaz.
Conviasa grows
Within this air market, the growth of the Venezuelan flag carrier, Conviasa, stands out. Its president and Minister of Transportation, Ramón Velásquez Araguayán, indicated that the airline currently covers 23 national and 10 international destinations.
He points out that for this year the airline projects a growth of 30% in international destinations and 20% in national destinations, being able to reach 10 countries.
President Nicolás Maduro recently assured that despite the blockade the airline is growing. “Sooner or later they will have to lift sanctions against Conviasa,” predicted the national president. “We are going to continue strengthening Conviasa,” he said.
Margarita and Maracaibo are the most sought-after destinations this first semester.
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