JetBlue Airways, which has surged into first place as the leading commercial airline at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, announced Thursday it intends to start its first direct flights to Venezuela from the Broward County airport before the year’s end.
In a statement, the New York-based airline said tickets are expected to go on sale for flights to the capital city of Caracas “in the coming months,” but the announcement did not list any prices or flight frequencies.
The route would be the first for JetBlue between the South American nation and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, where JetBlue is beefing up its presence with a major hub operation in the wake of Spirit Airlines’ demise earlier this month.
By this summer, JetBlue expects to be operating nearly 130 flights a day at Fort Laudersdale-Hollywood International, with the figure growing to around 150 by early 2027, according to its president, Marty St. George. Last week, the executive addressed the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance at a luncheon in Hollywood to outline the carrier’s growth plans.
“It’s a full-size operation for us,” he told the Sun Sentinel in an interview. “For the first time in JetBlue’s history, [there will be] an actual hub where we have flights timed for connections. I think it’s going to be a very different operation than we have ever had before.”
Without referring to the emerging political rapprochement between the United States and the Venezuelan regime once led by strongman Nicolas Maduro, JetBlue said Thursday it is responding “to strong travel demand between South Florida and Venezuela, especially for family visits.”
The Greater Fort Lauderdale area is home to one of the larger Venezuelan exile populations in Florida.
“Fort Lauderdale continues to serve as JetBlue’s gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America, and we believe there is meaningful opportunity to expand our presence in the region with planned service to Caracas,” Dave Jehn, the airline’s vice president, network planning and airline partnerships, said in the Thursday statement. “South Florida is home to a large Venezuelan community, and this new route would help connect families and loved ones with JetBlue’s competitive fares and award-winning service.”
The airline said it plans to operate Airbus A320 jetliners on the proposed route. The proposed route still requires government approvals “and completion of applicable processes to operate in Venezuela.”
In Central and South America, the carrier currently serves Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Guatemala, as well as 20 destinations in the Caribbean including the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
American resumes flights
American Airlines, the predominant carrier at Miami International Airport, resumed its service to Venezuela between Miami and Caracas in late April after a multi-year hiatus.
Flights to Caracas are operated by Envoy, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines Group, with Embraer 175 jetliners.
American started operating in Venezuela in 1987 but suspended service in 2019.
United Airlines has said it will start non-stop flights between Houston and Caracas on Aug. 11.
U.S. flight ban lifted
In January, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy lifted a seven-year-old ban that prohibited American air carriers from flying to and from Venezuela.
Two months later — shortly after the U.S. military seized Maduro and his wife and flew them to New York to stand trial on drug charges — American Airlines moved quickly to obtain authorizations to restore operations there.
The U.S. State Department has eased the severity of its travel advisory for Americans who are contemplating visiting Venezuela from “Do Not Travel” to “Reconsider Travel.” The latter category lists such risks as crime, kidnapping, terrorism, and poor public health care facilities.