(Reuters) -Venezuela has revoked operating rights for six major international airlines which suspended flights to the country following a warning from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
The civil aviation authority revoked permits for Iberia, TAP, Avianca, Latam Colombia, Turkish Airlines and Gol, which further reduces connectivity with the Caribbean nation and fulfils its threats made this week.
In a statement, Caracas said the carriers had “joined actions of state terrorism promoted by the United States” by “unilaterally” halting commercial flights.
Last week the U.S. aviation regulator warned major airlines of a “potentially hazardous situation” when flying over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around” the country.
Caracas said the U.S. regulator has no competence over its airspace.
The U.S. military has been deploying forces to the Caribbean for months amid worsening relations with Venezuela, to combat what it has portrayed as President Nicolas Maduro’s role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans.
Maduro has denied the accusations and says U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to oust him.
In a statement on Monday, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Venezuelan authorities had given international airlines a 48-hour deadline to resume flights, or risk losing their rights to fly to the country.
THE AIRLINES
Several international airlines have canceled flights to Venezuela in recent days, ignoring Caracas’s 48-hour deadline.
Iberia said it wished to restart flights to Venezuela as soon as full safety conditions were met.
Air Europa and Plus Ultra had suspended flights but did not have their permits revoked.
International airlines Copa and Wingo continue to operate in Venezuela, as do domestic airlines flying to Colombia, Panama, and Curaçao.
(Reporting by Jesus Calero; additional reporting by Corina Pons; Editing by Kevin Buckland and Clarence Fernandez)
