The National Institute of Civil Aviation of Venezuela has suspended as of this Monday all air commercial activity of the Spanish airline Air Europa in the South American country, sources in the sector confirmed to EFE on Tuesday.
Air Europa announced on Monday that for the time being it would keep its operations in Venezuela canceled until next December 12 and would monitor the current situation "permanently" to extend or not this suspension depending on the evolution of Venezuelan airspace.
The Globalia group airline, which operates between Madrid and Caracas with five weekly frequencies (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays), has maintained its activity suspended with Venezuela since last November 25.
The decision to keep its flights canceled came after the Spanish Agency for Air Safety (AESA) launched this Monday a new "high recommendation" to civilian operators not to fly over the FIR (the regions into which airspace is divided) of Maiquetía airport, which serves Caracas, until December 31.
The new notice (‘notam’ in aviation jargon) from AESA comes after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) warned last Saturday about the risks of operating in Venezuela until next January 31.
The government of Nicolás Maduro has also suspended as of Monday the air commercial activity in Venezuela of the Spanish airline Plus Ultra, which maintains the cancellation of its flights to Caracas for the moment until next December 8, when it will assess the situation to make a new decision in this regard.
Plus Ultra, which estimates that more than 3,000 passengers have been affected by the cancellation of its flights with Venezuela to date, is trying to relocate those who wish to do so on others it has from Colombia (Cartagena de Indias and Bogotá) to Madrid.
To do this, it is negotiating with companies that maintain their activity in Venezuela in order to facilitate the transfer of these passengers to Colombia, to connect from there with its flights to Spain.
For now, the operations of four international airlines remain active in Venezuela: Copa, Wingo, Satena and Boliviana de Aviación.
The national airlines Laser (which leases to Plus Ultra the aircraft and crews to operate three weekly frequencies between Madrid and Caracas) and Estelar suspended only their flights to Spain.
