LATAM Airlines, the largest Latin American airline, announced the suspension of its fights to Venezuela, citing the economic crisis of the area as the reason.
"Owing to the current complex macroeconomic scenario in the region, LATAM Airlines has announced adjustments to its destination network," a LATAM statement said.
Airlines, like Lufthansa, who also made the decision to suspend their flights to Venezuela, are saying the country's currency restrictions make it hard to covert earnings into the hard currency needed to cover costs.
By June 4 LATAM flights between Sao Paulo and Caracas were suspended "temporarily and for an unspecified time," and flights between Santiago and Lima are expected to be suspended by July, according to a LATAM statement.
Lufthansa told sources it is owed $100 million in ticket revenue from flights based out of Caracas.
Last March, according to Vice News, Chief Executive of IATA Tony Tyler warned of the airline operations in Venezuela.
"You can sense the frustration, some have said to us privately that they are thinking seriously about whether they can afford to keep these operations going," Tyler said at a conference.
About the Author
Vesna Brajkovic
Vesna Brajkovic, who grew up around pilots and aviation mechanics, creates digital content for AviationPros.com. She recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. When she's not writing about the aviation industry, you can find her freelancing for MyCommunityNow-Lake Country (USA Today Network). She can be reached at [email protected].