Private airlines in Venezuela have been shut down for nine months due to the government’s closure due to the pandemic, and when it relaxed restrictions and finally approved flights, it closed routes a few weeks later. high demand.
Flights to and from Panama and the Dominican Republic, used by Venezuelans to make connections to other destinations, were canceled two weeks after the official resumption by executive order, which left only the lines open with Turkey and Bolivia, close allies of President Nicolás Maduro , in addition to Mexico.
“Uncertainty does not stop and becomes more of a pandemic in Venezuelan commercial aviation,” Humberto Figuera, president of the Venezuelan Airlines Association (ALAV), told AFP, noting that the measure affects between 50,000 and 60,000 people abroad.
The Maduro government has again restricted operations, which have been suspended since March last year, a move that was justified by an increase in coronavirus infections abroad.
According to the latest official balance released on Wednesday, of the 190 new cases confirmed, 20 were imported.
Unlike other countries, Venezuela has not delivered a package of aid to airlines severely affected by the pre-pandemic crisis.
And with this measure there was no other option than to stop again and reorganize.
– “The tendency to close” –
The privately held Avior received permission on Tuesday to operate six flights between Caracas and Cancun with its Boeing 737-400, between December 25 and January 10, according to the document of the aeronautical authority to which AFP had access.
The line worked against the clock to receive the “slot” (position) in Mexico and to hire a company to provide the land service there.
Laser, another Venezuelan airline, also announced flights to Cancun until January 14.
Venezuela’s air activity collapsed due to a massive exodus of airlines in 2013, unable to repatriate billions of dollars due to strict control of the exchange in place at the time.
There are currently nine Venezuelan flag lines operating, although most on charter flights and in the three authorized domestic destinations.
ALAV fears that the state-run Conviasa, the only one covering Bolivia, will build a monopoly. Although now he will share the route to Mexico with Avior and Laser.
Of the international ones, only Turkish Airlines remains, which operates the route to Istanbul. Before the pandemic there were 10, including several Europeans, as well as the Panamanian Copa, which closed the frequency to Caracas by order of his country’s government.
Avior’s permit to fly to Mexico lasts until January 10, and after? Maduro demonstrated a radicalization in early 2021 due to the increase in the number of cases.
“I think there is a tendency to close,” said Juan Bracamonte, president of Avior.
– Pilots cook to survive –
Moving a Venezuelan plane, Figuera said, costs about $ 3,500 an hour and requires qualified personnel who, like the planes, have been inactive for months.
With the exception of the maintenance team, which did not stop, many pilots, flight attendants and ground staff are on unpaid leave or receive less pay.
Juan José Castro is 53 years old, of whom 30 were on board the planes. He worked as a pilot for an airline, a cargo plane and today he works in private aviation, unemployed and without any prospect of reopening.
“There was a total, very abrupt stop here and it affected many families,” Castro said, assuring that his entire circle of friends is stopped like him.
“It’s one of the years I’ve been on land the most,” he added at home, where he exploited his cooking skills – a hobby so far – to supplement his budget, reaching less: he gets half salary.
He sells ham bread, a supplement to the Venezuelan Christmas dinner, for $ 15 per unit, but can’t wait to return to Cessna Citation II.
Marián Gabazú, 20, works in a restaurant while the sector is reactivating and may request a flight attendant again, one year after completing his course at an academy in Caracas.
“I didn’t go beyond filling out the form … but I’m not losing hope.”