Flights to Venezuela are finally back after a 7-year freeze. Only 1 US airline is restarting service.

• American Airlines is the first US carrier to resume service to Venezuela in 7 years.
• It comes after US officials tore up a 2019 order barring US carriers from flying in the country.
• Caracus airport used to be a bustling gateway, but economic turmoil had pushed airlines to retreat.

Now boarding for the first time in seven years: Venezuela.

On Thursday, American Airlines ended its yearslong hiatus and resumed flights from Miami to Caracas, reclaiming a route no US carrier has flown since 2019 after regulators halted operations to the nation amid security concerns and political instability.

The roughly 3.5-hour route is operated by American's wholly owned regional subsidiary Envoy Air, using a 76-seat Embraer E175 with first class and economy cabins. American will add a second daily E175 flight to Caracas starting May 21.

The Embraer jet flying the inaugural — which is Brazilian-built — will sport a special "America250" livery celebrating the US' 250th birthday; 2026 is also American's centennial year.

American's return to Venezuela is initially limited to the capital, Caracas, though service to Maracaibo — a coastal city in the northwest where it also used to fly — has also been cleared by the Department of Transportation.

The route will follow this schedule, effective April 30.

• Depart Miami: 10:16 a.m. | Arrive Caracas 1:36 p.m.
• Depart Caracas 2:40 p.m. | Arrive Miami: 6:13 p.m.

The second daily frequency, effective May 21, will leave earlier in the day.

• Depart Miami: 8:55 a.m. | Arrive Caracas 12:15 p.m.
• Depart Caracas 1 p.m. | Arrive Miami: 4:34 p.m.

Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium shows American has about 680 scheduled flights between Miami and Caracas this year.

Before 2019, it flew up to 5,000 flights annually from cities like Dallas-Fort Worth, New York, and San Juan, and was the largest US operator in Venezuela.

Demand is expected to be driven primarily by "VFR" (visiting friends and relatives) traffic among the large Venezuelan diaspora in Florida, though the nation is also bracing for more international tourists and business travelers.

Competing with American on the route is Venezuelan carrier Laser Airlines, which is expected to launch flights on Friday using a leased Airbus A320 from US-based Global Crossing Airlines. The jet can hold about twice as many people as Envoy's E175.

Laser cannot operate its own aircraft in the US because Venezuela's aviation regulator is rated below international safety standards by US authorities.

Nearly two dozen other foreign airlines also serve Venezuelan cities, with about 40,000 flights collectively scheduled for 2026, per Cirium — less than a third of the roughly 130,000 the airport handled at its 2013 peak, during its era as a key gateway for oil, business, and international travel.

Revived service to Venezuela comes after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, in January, rescinded a 2019 order barring US carriers from flying there, effectively reopening its skies to commercial flights.

The decision followed the removal of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a US military raid that helped reset relations between the Trump administration and the remaining Venezuelan leadership.

"By restarting service to Venezuela, American will offer customers the opportunity to reunite with families and create new business and commerce with the United States," Nat Pieper, American's chief commercial officer, said in January.

The airline said it worked with regulators and other key stakeholders to assess security and ensure a safe return.

The Trump administration has targeted undocumented Venezuelans living in the US as part of its mass deportation effort, and accused some of being violent gang members. Direct commercial flights offer Venezuelans a way to self-deport, should they choose to.

Some airlines that had continued serving Venezuela despite the country's crisis briefly suspended flights earlier this year during US military operations.

Many have since returned, including LATAM, Avianca, and Copa Airlines, as well as European carriers like TAP Air Portugal, Iberia, and Turkish Airlines.

It is unclear whether American will remain the only US carrier operating to Venezuela; rivals United Airlines and Delta Air Lines have not announced plans to return.

Both United and Delta, which used to connect Caracas to Houston and Atlanta, respectively, stopped flying to the nation in 2017, citing declining demand and Venezuela's deepening economic crisis.