Feb. 24, 2006, 5:01PM
Venezuela plans to bar Continental, Delta
By FABIOLA SANCHEZ
Associated Press
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela plans to prohibit Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines from flying into this South American nation and is restricting flights by a third major U.S. carrier, American Airlines, the head of the nation's federal aviation agency said.
The orders would take effect on March 1, Paz told the local Globovision television channel.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the decision was unjustified and unwarranted and violated the 1953 Air Transport Services Agreement between the United States and Venezuela. He said the United States is urging Venezuela to respect the agreement.
Relations between Caracas and Washington have been tense in recent weeks with U.S. officials voicing concerns over the health of Venezuela's democracy and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatening to cut off oil exports to the United States.
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines currently operates a daily route from Simon Bolivar international Airport to Atlanta. Continental Airlines has a daily round trip to Caracas from Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and a weekly round trip to Caracas from Newark (N.J.) Liberty International Airport.
"We are very disappointed by this unilateral action by the Venezuelan government and we are working closely with the U.S. departments of State and Transportation, as well as the airlines who received similar notice, to resolve the issue as quickly as possible," said Gina Laughlin, a spokeswoman for Delta Air Lines Inc.
Continental Airlines Inc. is negotiating with Venezuelan authorities "to try to resolve the situation immediately and amicably," the carrier said Friday in a statement. "The outcome, however, is not within Continental's control."
AMR Corp.'s American Airlines operates up to seven flights per day into Caracas and one to Maracaibo, mostly from Miami but also from Dallas-Fort Worth, New York and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Venezuela is threatening to eliminate all but three daily flights between Miami and Caracas, American officials said.
Dan Elwell, American Airlines spokesman, said the airline was surprised by the announcement.
"American Airlines had no warning of this announcement at all," Elwell said, adding that Venezuela is a very important market to the United States. "We're sort of watching and waiting," he said.
Roberto Pulido, president of the Venezuelan Association of Airlines, told The Associated Press the three U.S.-based airlines received notification of the ban on Thursday and were meeting Friday with Venezuelan aviation officials to discuss the measure.
"The closing or restriction of operations by these airlines will ... dramatically affect tourism and business trips," the association said in a statement.
The cargo carrier FedEx Corp. in Memphis, meanwhile, was trying to determine if it is affected by the restrictions.
"What's happening right now, we are working with Venezuelan authorities to see if this will affect us. We are trying to clarify right now. Early information seemed to indicate we would be affected," said spokeswoman Sandra Munoz.
She said FedEx has one flight a day Monday through Friday into Venezuela.
In 1996, the FAA ruled that Venezuela must tighten its airline safety procedures and downgraded its civil aviation authority, restricting flights because Venezuela allegedly didn't meet international safety standards.
Venezuelan officials say they have improved safety standards since then.
"We have exhausted all avenues with the U.S. aeronautical authority," the National Aviation Institute said in a statement. "We have been forced to reduce the frequency of flights of U.S. airline companies from the U.S."
U.S. aviation authorities have "failed to give Venezuelan airlines the rights they deserve under bilateral agreements," the statement said.
AMR shares fell 64 cents, or 2.5 percent, to close at $25.23 on the New York Stock Exchange, while Continental shares lost 7 cents to $23.24. Delta is operating under bankruptcy court protection.
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This article is: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/3683192.html
Venezuela plans to bar Continental, Delta
By FABIOLA SANCHEZ
Associated Press
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela plans to prohibit Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines from flying into this South American nation and is restricting flights by a third major U.S. carrier, American Airlines, the head of the nation's federal aviation agency said.
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]ADVERTISEMENT[/FONT]
var bnum=new Number(Math.floor(99999999 * Math.random())+1); document.write(''); http://servedby.advertising.com/cli...c31,8483189887,693431^171471,1_/bnum=54491114 Francisco Paz, president of the National Aviation Institute, said late Thursday the action was taken because the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration had established a similar ban on some Venezuelan carriers serving routes to the United States 10 years ago due to safety violations. Venezuela said the U.S. has failed to recognize improvements since then.The orders would take effect on March 1, Paz told the local Globovision television channel.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the decision was unjustified and unwarranted and violated the 1953 Air Transport Services Agreement between the United States and Venezuela. He said the United States is urging Venezuela to respect the agreement.
Relations between Caracas and Washington have been tense in recent weeks with U.S. officials voicing concerns over the health of Venezuela's democracy and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatening to cut off oil exports to the United States.
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines currently operates a daily route from Simon Bolivar international Airport to Atlanta. Continental Airlines has a daily round trip to Caracas from Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and a weekly round trip to Caracas from Newark (N.J.) Liberty International Airport.
"We are very disappointed by this unilateral action by the Venezuelan government and we are working closely with the U.S. departments of State and Transportation, as well as the airlines who received similar notice, to resolve the issue as quickly as possible," said Gina Laughlin, a spokeswoman for Delta Air Lines Inc.
Continental Airlines Inc. is negotiating with Venezuelan authorities "to try to resolve the situation immediately and amicably," the carrier said Friday in a statement. "The outcome, however, is not within Continental's control."
AMR Corp.'s American Airlines operates up to seven flights per day into Caracas and one to Maracaibo, mostly from Miami but also from Dallas-Fort Worth, New York and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Venezuela is threatening to eliminate all but three daily flights between Miami and Caracas, American officials said.
Dan Elwell, American Airlines spokesman, said the airline was surprised by the announcement.
"American Airlines had no warning of this announcement at all," Elwell said, adding that Venezuela is a very important market to the United States. "We're sort of watching and waiting," he said.
Roberto Pulido, president of the Venezuelan Association of Airlines, told The Associated Press the three U.S.-based airlines received notification of the ban on Thursday and were meeting Friday with Venezuelan aviation officials to discuss the measure.
"The closing or restriction of operations by these airlines will ... dramatically affect tourism and business trips," the association said in a statement.
The cargo carrier FedEx Corp. in Memphis, meanwhile, was trying to determine if it is affected by the restrictions.
"What's happening right now, we are working with Venezuelan authorities to see if this will affect us. We are trying to clarify right now. Early information seemed to indicate we would be affected," said spokeswoman Sandra Munoz.
She said FedEx has one flight a day Monday through Friday into Venezuela.
In 1996, the FAA ruled that Venezuela must tighten its airline safety procedures and downgraded its civil aviation authority, restricting flights because Venezuela allegedly didn't meet international safety standards.
Venezuelan officials say they have improved safety standards since then.
"We have exhausted all avenues with the U.S. aeronautical authority," the National Aviation Institute said in a statement. "We have been forced to reduce the frequency of flights of U.S. airline companies from the U.S."
U.S. aviation authorities have "failed to give Venezuelan airlines the rights they deserve under bilateral agreements," the statement said.
AMR shares fell 64 cents, or 2.5 percent, to close at $25.23 on the New York Stock Exchange, while Continental shares lost 7 cents to $23.24. Delta is operating under bankruptcy court protection.
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This article is: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/3683192.html
