The first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela in seven years was scheduled to land in Caracas on Thursday, the AP reports, marking a major step in the resumption of travel ties between the two countries after years of disruption.The resumption of nonstop service comes months after the US capture of then-President Nicolas Maduro in January and a month after Washington formally reopened its embassy in Caracas following the restoration of full diplomatic ties.Flight AA3599, operated by American Airlines subsidiary Envoy Air, was scheduled to depart Miami at 10:16 a.m. EDT and arrive in the Venezuelan capital about three hours later, before returning to Florida in the afternoon.American Airlines staff handed out small Venezuelan flags to passengers before departure, while balloons in the country’s national colors – yellow, blue and red – decorated the boarding gate.“I’m very excited to go and see the family and I’m looking forward to seeing the country,” passenger Lennart Ochoa of Miami said shortly before boarding.He said he was “ready to go” and booked his ticket as soon as it became available.American Airlines previously said a second daily flight between Miami and Caracas would begin May 21.These flights mark the return of direct commercial travel between the US and Venezuela for the first time since the rupture of diplomatic ties in 2019.For the past seven years, passengers relied on indirect routes through neighboring Latin American countries and international carriers.American Airlines was the last US airline to operate in Venezuela before suspending flights in 2019 between Miami and Caracas, as well as services to the oil hub Maracaibo.Delta and United Airlines had already exited the market in 2017 during Venezuela’s political crisis, which forced millions of people to flee the country.When it announced the reopening earlier this year, American Airlines said the flights would allow customers to reconnect with family members and explore business opportunities.“Parents will be reunited with children, grandparents will be reunited with grandchildren and entire families will be able to reconnect with the home that shaped and raised them,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniela Levin Cava said before boarding began.“Miami-Dade is home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States,” he said.
