The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged commercial airlines to "exercise extreme caution" when flying over Venezuela and the southern Caribbean, deeming the situation "potentially dangerous in the region." This Thursday, IATA, which represents over 300 airlines worldwide, called on Venezuelan authorities to "reconsider" their revocation of flight permits. After six foreign airlines had their flight licenses revoked in Venezuela, with authorities accusing them of "joining terrorist actions" allegedly promoted by the United States, the main airport serving Caracas operated with a limited travel schedule. On Thursday, November 27th, only seven departures and seven arrivals were scheduled. This measure affected Iberia, TAP, Avianca, Latam Colombia, Turkish Airlines, and Gol, which fly to destinations such as Spain, Portugal, Colombia, Turkey, and Brazil. The flight board at 11:00 local time showed seven scheduled departures for that Thursday and seven arrivals, to destinations including Havana (Cuba), Panama City, Curaçao, Bogotá (Colombia), Viru Viru (Bolivia), and Lima (Peru). The west wing of the terminal, where the check-in counters for Iberia, TAP, Turkish, and Air Europa are usually located, was completely empty. Opposite this area, the Turkish Airlines office, which had a weekly frequency of seven flights until last week, remained closed. The headquarters of other airlines, such as Latam, which also suspended its flights to Colombia, also remained closed. In the east wing, only two airlines were serving passengers: the state-owned Conviasa, with flights to Havana, and Copa, which flies to Panama. "There is no one here," a saleswoman at a shop, who wished to remain anonymous, told EFE. And although she admitted that "it's not always crowded," she explained that the foot traffic has been lower than usual all week. During a tour of Plus Ultra's offices in Caracas, passenger Carmela Isava recounted that she was scheduled to travel this Thursday, but her itinerary was canceled. Her three children, who live in Spain, had given her the ticket as a gift two months ago.
