American Airlines suspends service to Venezuela following travel advisory
FOX NEWS - American Airlines confirmed Friday that the carrier will be suspending operations in Caracas and Maracaibo following the State Department's updated travel advisory for Venezuela, which prompted a pilots union for the airline to advise its members to "refuse" piloting any flights into the country.
"American has temporarily suspended our operation into Caracas and Maracaibo. Our Corporate Security team has a collaborative partnership with all of our union leaders and we will continue to do so to evaluate the situation in Venezuela. The safety and security of our team members and customers is always number one and American will not operate to countries we don't consider safe," the airline wrote in a statement to Fox News on Friday.
On Thursday, the Allied Pilots Association (APA) had advised its members against flying into Venezuela, citing the State Department's travel advisory.
"In light of the U.S. State Department's Level 4 Travel Advisory issued this week regarding Venezuela, APA President CA Dan Carey directs all [Allied Pilots Association] pilots to cease flight operations into Venezuela," reads a statement posted to the union's official website Thursday.