Simón Bolívar International Airport (Venezuela)

Early years (1945−2012)

The airport opened in 1945 as the Maiquetía International Airport (Aeropuerto Internacional de Maiquetía).^[2] The site had been recommended as an appropriate location for an airport by Charles Lindbergh on behalf of Pan Am.^[3] The USA subsidised the construction of the airport as part of the Airport Development Program. The original passenger terminal was designed by architect Luis Malaussena.^[4]

In the 1950s, under the regime of dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez, road transport between the airport and the capital was improved by the inauguration of the Caracas-La Guaira highway, and the La Guaira and Caracas Railway, dating from the nineteenth century, was closed.

Between 1952 and 1962, two new wings were added to the passenger terminal, and the runway was expanded to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). Lighting was installed on the runway and approach zones to allow night operations. A new runway was built in 1956, and in 1962 extended to 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) long by 60 metres (200 ft) wide.

From the late 1970s until the 1980s Air France operated a weekly service by the Anglo-French supersonic airliner Concorde between Caracas and Paris, with a stop at the airport of Santa Maria in the Atlantic Ocean Azores archipelago.^[5]

In the 1970s a new international terminal was constructed to offer increased capacity, with a domestic terminal opening in 1983. Viasa, the flag-carrier of Venezuela, ceased operations on 23 January 1997. Since 2000, the airport has been undergoing major changes in order to meet international standards and to improve passenger traffic, security, immigration areas, and customs areas. Security measures have become top priority since the September 11, 2001 attacks, and departure and arrival areas are completely separate, in the lower and upper levels of the airport. Proyecto Maiquetía 2000 (Project Maiquetia 2000) was completed in 2007, adding added new customs and immigration areas, a new cargo terminal, and a connecting passageway between the domestic and international terminal.

In March 2007, Iran Air introduced service to Tehran via Damascus.^[6] It had a codeshare agreement with Conviasa, which took over the route seven months later.^[7][8] Conviasa ended its non-stop service to Damascus in August 2012.^[9]

Crisis in Venezuela (2012−2026)

During the crisis in Bolivarian Venezuela, continuing as of 2025^[update], domestic airlines are laboring under tremendous difficulties because of hyperinflation and parts shortages. Many international airlines left the country,^[10] including Aeroméxico, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Air Canada, Alitalia, Avianca, Delta Air Lines, Lufthansa, LATAM, and United Airlines, making travel to the country difficult. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Bolivarian government has not paid US$3.8 billion to international airlines in a currency issue involving conversion of local currency to U.S. dollars.^[11] Reasons for airlines to leave also include crime against flight crews, stolen baggage, and problems with the quality of jet fuel and maintenance of runways.^[12]

In 2016, the jetways in the international terminal were replaced with new glass-walled jetways.^{[citation needed]} Following the increasing economic partnership between Venezuela and Turkey in October 2016, Turkish Airlines started offering direct flights from December 2016 connecting between Caracas to Istanbul (via Havana, Cuba) in an effort to "link and expand contacts" between the two countries.^[13]

By 2018, terminals in the airport lacked air conditioning and utilities such as water and electricity. Flight crews are often sent to stay in different cities to avoid crime that occurs in the area. The company charged with providing sanitation services ceased to exist, so the airport buildings were cleaned less frequently. The Bolivarian National Guard, tasked with providing security, often extorts travelers by force.^[14]

In support of President Nicolas Maduro's government, Russian Air Force aircraft, including Tupolev Tu-160 bombers, were deployed to the airport in early December 2018.^[15] In March 2019, two Russian planes were deployed to the airport carrying 100 troops and 35 tonnes of matériel;^[16] they stayed until 26 June 2019, according to a Russian embassy announcement.^[17]

American Airlines, the last U.S. airline serving Venezuela, left on 15 March 2019, after its pilots refused to fly to Venezuela, citing safety issues.^[18] Two months later, the United States Department of Transportation and Department of Homeland Security indefinitely suspended all flights between Venezuela and the United States, due to safety and security concerns.^[19] The suspension affects mainly Venezuelan airlines that flew to Miami: Avior Airlines, LASER Airlines, and Estelar Latinoamerica.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government announced on 3 February 2020 that the country had imposed epidemiological surveillance, restrictions and diagnostic systems to detect possible COVID-19 cases at this airport and that Venezuela would receive a diagnostic kit for the virus strain from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).^[20]

Following the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election, flights to Panama and Dominican Republic were suspended on 31 July 2024.^[21]

Post-Maduro period and the resumption of US flights (2026−present)

In 2026, three weeks after the ousting of then-president Nicolás Maduro, US President Donald Trump ordered the country's acting president Delcy Rodríguez to reopen flights to the Venezuelan airspace after a 7-year hiatus and scheduled international flights to Miami, Florida will be operated by American Airlines, which last served the route in March 2019.^{[22][23][24][25]}

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled passenger flights at Simón Bolívar International Airport:

Cargo

Chronology of former international flights

In 2004, KLM Dutch Airlines It was the first major airline to end its operations in Venezuela citting official reason the "consolidation" of operations with their partners Air France, making its last flight to Venezuela in February 2005. In 2005, British Airways also stopped operating direct flights to Venezuela from London in February 2005, because the route continued to lose money and the decision was due to commercial reasons.^[95]

Since 2014, foreign and domestic carriers have reduced and/or terminated their presence due to political instability and their inability to recover US$3.8 billion^[96] in funds owed to airlines. Some carriers have scheduled stops in nearby countries so that flight crews do not have to stay overnight in Caracas, considered unsafe.^[14][97]

In November 2025, Venezuela withdrew operating permits from six airlines, Iberia, TAP, Avianca, Latam Colombia, Turkish Airlines, and Gol, after they suspended their routes following a US warning about risks in Venezuelan airspace.^[98]

The table below outlines the chronology of route terminations since 2013.^[99][100]

More information Airline, Destination ...

Airline	Destination	Flight frequency	Terminated/Suspended
Aerolíneas Argentinas	Buenos Aires–Ezeiza	1 flight per week	5 August 2017
Aeroméxico	Mexico City–Benito Juárez	3 flights per week	23 June 2016
Air Canada	Toronto–Pearson	4 flights per week	18 March 2014
Air France	Paris–Charles de Gaulle	N/A	24 September 2020
American Airlines	San Juan–LMM	Daily flights	1 July 2014
	Dallas–Fort Worth	1 flight per week	1 July 2014
	New York–JFK	5 flights per week	4 April 2016
Avianca Costa Rica	San José (CR)	Daily flights	7 April 2014 (1st) 28 February 2024 (2nd)
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta	4 flights per week	16 September 2017
Dynamic Airways	Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood	Daily flights	13 August 2016
	New York–JFK	2 flights per week	1 August 2017
LATAM Brasil	São Paulo–Guarulhos	1 flight per week	28 May 2016
LATAM Chile	Santiago	2 flights per week	1 August 2016
	Miami	1 flight per week	1 August 2016
Lufthansa	Frankfurt	3 flights per week	17 June 2016
United Airlines	Newark	5 flights per week	20 January 2013

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