United becomes 2nd US airline to return to Venezuela, ending nearly 10-year hiatus
United Airlines is set to begin flying to Venezuela for the first time in nearly 10 years. The airline will resume nonstop flights between Houston and Caracas, Venezuela, marking another step in the reopening of air service between the U.S. and Venezuela.
Daily service from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to Caracas' Simon Bolivar International Airport (CCS) will begin Aug. 11, pending final government approval, the Chicago-based carrier 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 after American Airlines resumed flights between Miami International Airport (MIA) and CCS, ending an approximately seven-year period without commercial air service between the U.S. 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 reinforces United's Houston hub as a leading gateway to the region," Patrick Quayle, United's senior vice president of global network planning and alliances, said in a statement.
The return of nonstop service between the U.S. and Venezuela comes after the U.S. removed and arrested Venezuela's former president, Nicolas Maduro, in January. In addition to United and American, Colombia's Avianca and Panama's Copa Airlines are amother airlines that have either 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 p.m. and arriving in Caracas at 5:30 a.m. the following morning (all times local). 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 Aug. 11, and the first return flight will be Aug. 12.
Flights are available to book now on the United website, but they aren't cheap: Airfare starts at $1,465 for a round-trip journey in September.
Award availability doesn't yet seem to be available on this route.