by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 8:45 AM ET, Thu March 5, 2026
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced on Wednesday, March 5 that it had approved flights to operate between Miami to Caracas and Maracaibo in Venezuela, operated by American Airlines’ owned regional carrier Envoy.
American Airlines had announced its move to be the first airline in the nation to fly nonstop to Venezuela in seven years just weeks after U.S. military forces seized Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro back in January.
According to Reuters, the USDOT’s order is valid for the next two years and rescinds a 2019 order barring airlines from flying to Venezuela. President Trump asked the USDOT to lift flight restrictions in January following a conversation with Acting President Delcy Rodríguez.
Yet the U.S. Department of State’s travel advisory continues to warn travelers not to visit Venezuela. The country is still categorized as a Level 4 threat, saying, “Do not travel to or remain in Venezuela due to the high risk of wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest, and poor health infrastructure.”
The recent attack on Venezuela briefly suspended aircraft operations throughout the Caribbean for a time, stranding travelers across the Caribbean, and led to warnings about safety for flights nearing Venezuela.
American Airlines was once the American air carrier that flew the most flights to Venezuela prior to 2019.
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