Photo courtesy of Kok Vermeulen used under a Creative Commons license
If this continues, nobody will be able to fly in and out of Venezuela.
Alitalia became the latest carrier to suspend flights to the South American country in a dispute over being paid. Venezuela owes 24 airlines across the world $3.8 billion in ticket sales, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the trade association that represents virtually every airline.
At issue is the way the country takes in money for airline tickets and then distributes it. Venezuela insists all money collected in ticket sales must be in bolivars, which it then deposits into a government-controlled account. The government then disperses the money.
But there have been no dispersals. The government is running out of money and has not made any payments.
"The bottom line is the airlines are asking for their money; the money that they've earned for services provided in transporting passengers from and to Venezuela," Peter Cerda, regional vice president for the IATA, told CNN.com. "Unfortunately, again, the government is holding that money and not releasing it to the airlines."
It is unknown when new Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro plans on paying the airlines. He agreed in late March to begin making payments but, almost two months later, still hasn't.
Air Canada ceased flying to Venezuela in March.
Alitalia suspended flights last week.
"Alitalia has decided to suspend its Rome-Caracas service temporarily," the company said in a statement. The suspension begins June 2. "Once the internal situation has stabilised, Alitalia will consider resuming operations to Venezuela, which is a vital market for traffic from and to Italy."
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