United Airlines to resume Venezuela flights after eight-year hiatus

WASHINGTON: United Airlines said on Tuesday it will resume flying to Venezuela with daily direct flights between Houston and Caracas, about eight years after suspending operations to the country.
The carrier said its services between its hub at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and Simon ‌Bolivar International Airport ‌in Caracas will start ‌August ⁠11.
It joins American ⁠Airlines in restarting service to Venezuela after US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in January lifted a 2019 ban on US airlines flying to the country, following a directive ⁠from President Donald Trump.
The US ‌State Department ‌lifted Venezuela from its “Do Not Travel” list ‌for Americans in March, issuing ‌a less serious “Reconsider Travel” advisory due to risk of crime, kidnapping, terrorism, and poor health infrastructure.
“This specific flight will be ‌critical to ferrying oil sector workers into the country as ⁠the ⁠US and Venezuela work together to expand production and generate new economic opportunities,” US Transportation Secretary Duffy said on Tuesday.
United had offered flights to Venezuela for nearly 20 years before it suspended those services in 2017. The carrier plans to deploy its Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft on the route.