United Airlines will begin flying to Venezuela for the first time in almost 10 years. The airline will resume nonstop flights between Houston and Caracas, Venezuela, marking another step in the reopening of air service between the United States and Venezuela.
Daily service from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to Caracas’ Simón Bolívar International Airport (CCS) will begin August 11, pending final government approval, the Chicago-based airline announced Tuesday.
United operated flights between the U.S. and Venezuela for more than 20 years before cutting service in June 2017 due to low demand and social and political unrest in Venezuela.
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The airline’s return comes two weeks later American Airlines resumed flights between Miami International Airport (MIA) and CCS, ending a period of approximately seven years without commercial air service between the United States and Venezuela. Earlier this year, the U.S. government lifted its 2019 ban on flights to Venezuela following security reviews of Caracas airport and improvements in diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The Houston-Caracas route is aimed at both business travelers and Venezuelan families visiting relatives, according to the airline. “This flight will help strengthen cultural and economic ties across the Americas and further strengthen United’s Houston hub as a primary gateway to the region,” Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice president of global network planning and alliances, said in a statement. statement.
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The return of nonstop service between the United States and Venezuela comes after the United States removed and arrested former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January. In addition to United and American, Colombia’s Avianca and Panama’s Copa Airlines are other airlines that have restored or expanded service to Venezuela.
United’s new service will be operated with Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, departing daily from Houston at 11:45 pm and arriving in Caracas at 5:30 am the next morning (all local times). The daily return flight will depart Caracas at 8 a.m. and arrive in Houston at 12:30 p.m.
The first flight to Venezuela will be on August 11 and the first return flight will be on August 12.
Flights are available to book now at united website, But they’re not cheap: Airfare starts at $1,465 for a roundtrip in September.
Reward availability does not appear to be available on this route yet.
