Venezuela’s National Institute of Civil Aeronautics (INAC) announced the revocation of flight permits for TAP and five other foreign companies, according to a statement from INAC and the Ministry of Transport published on Instagram.
The measure comes after several carriers, including the Portuguese company, suspended connections to the country following a security warning issued by the United States.
In addition to TAP, the companies Iberia (Spain), Avianca (Colombia), Latam Airlines (Chile), Turkish Airlines (Turkey) and Gol Linhas Aéreas (Brazil) were targeted in the decision.
The AFP agency reported that the Venezuelan Ministry of Transport had given a deadline of 48 hours for the resumption of operations before moving towards the ban.
The Venezuelan government says that, “as they join the actions of state terrorism promoted by the US Government, we unilaterally suspended their commercial operations to and from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela”.
TAP had previously stated that the suspension of two flights to Venezuela resulted from information from the United States aeronautical authorities, which called into question the safety conditions in Venezuelan airspace, particularly in the Maiquetía flight information zone.
Venezuela’s decision comes precisely after this decision adopted by TAP and motivated by the warning issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), asking for caution from carriers operating in the region, citing the worsening of the security situation and intensification of military activity in Venezuelan territory or in its surroundings.