{"id":253440,"date":"2026-05-01T03:58:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T03:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/253440\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T03:58:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T03:58:12","slug":"how-flight-aa3599-out-of-mia-made-u-s-venezuela-history-and-will-encourage-more-family-reunions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/253440\/","title":{"rendered":"How Flight AA3599 out of MIA made U.S.-Venezuela history and will encourage more family reunions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Capt. Ric Wilson waved the Venezuelan flag with the eight stars from the captain\u2019s side window of a commercial Embraer E175<\/a> on Thursday morning at Miami International Airport. <\/p>\n

Some Venezuelans in South Florida avoid displaying that flag. Instead, they fly the 7-starred flag that Francisco de Miranda<\/a>, a Venezuelan revolutionary who fought for independence from Spain, introduced in 1811. <\/p>\n

The detail didn\u2019t mean much to Barbara Font, a Venezuelan who lives in Florida. She was excited about how much more often she plans to visit her family. Before Flight AA 3599<\/a> on Thursday, she used to have a day-journey, followed by a layover in Panama. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a lot easier, because we don\u2019t have to make connections,\u201d Font said while getting ready to board Flight AA 3599<\/a>. \u201cSo, having this opportunity, it\u2019s really amazing. <\/p>\n

\"\"Venezuela US Flights Capt. Ric Wilson, center left, and first officer Robert Neider, center right, hold Venezuelan and American flags along with other members of the American Airlines Flight AA3599 flight crew, as they prepare to pilot the first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela in seven years, Thursday, April 30, 2026, at Miami International Airport in Miami. (AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell) (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) (Rebecca Blackwell\/AP) <\/p>\n

American Airlines first began service to Caracas in 1987, after an oil price collapse<\/a> severely crippled Venezuela\u2019s economy. Ch\u00e1vez took over Venezuela in 1999, and to the outrage of the opposition, he released his 8-starred flag in 2006. <\/p>\n

After Ch\u00e1vez died on March 5, 2013, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro succeeded him. The instability that followed prompted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to suspend all U.S.-Venezuela flights in May 2019<\/a>. <\/p>\n

In January, President Donald Trump ordered U.S. forces to capture Maduro, the U.S. Department of Transportation lifted the 2019 ban, and American Airlines announced plans to become \u201cthe first airline to reconnect Venezuela with the United States<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"VENEZUELA-EEUU-VUELOS An American Airlines agent holds Venezuelan flags for boarding passengers on Thursday at Miami International Airport. (AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell) (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) (Rebecca Blackwell\/AP) <\/p>\n

Jarrod Agen, the executive director of the White House National Energy Dominance Council, celebrated the changes that followed the transition with Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, the first woman to hold the position of interim President of Venezuela. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have had a lot of progress with oil and gas deals and mining deals, and this opens it up, and things are going to move even faster,\u201d Agen said before boarding Flight AA 3599<\/a>, the first commercial passenger flight from the U.S. to Venezuela in nearly seven years, with Wilson, the vice president of flight operations for Envoy Air<\/a>, a Texas-based American Airlines subsidiary.<\/p>\n

\"\"Venezuela US Flights Capt. Ric Wilson waves a Venezuelan flag and the first officer waves a U.S. flag as they prepare to fly American Airlines Flight AA3599, the first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela in seven years, Thursday, April 30, 2026, at Miami International Airport in Miami. (AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell) (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) (Rebecca Blackwell\/AP) <\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump is a man of action, and what you\u2019re seeing today is action taking place,\u201d Agen said after disembarking. <\/p>\n

Envoy Air operated the twin-engine regional jet\u2019s inaugural direct flight from Miami International Airport in Miami-Dade County, or MIA, to Sim\u00f3n Bol\u00edvar International Airport in Maiquet\u00eda, or CCS. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first of many expanded connections between the United States and Venezuela, as Venezuela looks to reclaim its position as a regional economic and energy powerhouse,\u201d said John Barrett<\/a>, the charg\u00e9 d\u2019affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas. <\/p>\n

Barrett, a veteran diplomat, was among the passengers aboard Flight AA 3599 who experienced the water cannon salutes at both airports. <\/p>\n

\"\"VENEZUELA-EEUU-VUELOS An American Airlines jet gets a water cannon salute on Thursday at Miami International Airport. (AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell) (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) (Rebecca Blackwell\/AP) <\/p>\n

AA decorated the jet with an America250 commemorative logo<\/a>. At MIA, passengers were welcomed with small Venezuelan 8-star flags, Venezuelan \u201cteque\u00f1os\u201d by Panna, arepas from Gilbert\u2019s, live music, and balloons at the gate. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot of hope,\u201d Alejandra Montesinos, a passenger, said at MIA. \u201cWe have a lot of hope as Venezuelans.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"\"Venezuela US Flights Passengers line up to check in for a U.S.-bound commercial flight at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, Thursday, April 30, 2026, as direct air service between the United States and Venezuela resumes after seven years. (AP Photo\/Ariana Cubillos) (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) (Ariana Cubillos\/AP) <\/p>\n

Flight AA 3599\u2019s gate departure was at 10:11 a.m., the takeoff was at 10:26 a.m., the landing was at 1:15 p.m., and the gate arrival was at 1:22 p.m., according<\/a> to Flight Aware. The non-stop flight\u2019s travel time was 3 hours and 11 minutes. <\/p>\n

\u201cCaracas is the shortest air distance from any city in the East Coast of North America to South America,\u201d said F\u00e9lix Plasencia, who was appointed under Rodr\u00edguez as Venezuela\u2019s diplomatic representative to the U.S.<\/p>\n

\"\"Venezuela US Flights A Venezuelan National Guard officer checks passengers ID’s prior to check in for a U.S.-bound commercial flight at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, Thursday, April 30, 2026, as direct air service between the United States and Venezuela resumes after seven years. (AP Photo\/Ariana Cubillos) (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) (Ariana Cubillos\/AP) <\/p>\n

On March 19, the U.S. State Department issued a Travel Advisory on Venezuela<\/a> as a Level 3 Reconsider Travel. The advisory also warned that some areas, including the Colombian border, are at a Level 4 Do Not Travel \u201cdue to risk of crime, kidnapping, terrorism, and poor health infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite this, the demand for Flight AA 3599 tickets was high. The twin-jet had a capacity for under 100 people. Ticket prices climbed well over $1,000. There was a returning CCS-Miami flight on Thursday, and travel experts expect American Airlines to add a second MIA-CCS flight later in May. <\/p>\n

\"\"APTOPIX Venezuela US Flights A passenger boards American Airlines Flight AA3599, the first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela in seven years, Thursday, April 30, 2026, at Miami International Airport in Miami. (AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell) (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) (Rebecca Blackwell\/AP) <\/p>\n

This will likely mean more family reunions for Font, Montesinos, and other Venezuelans who live in the U.S. but still have relatives living in Venezuela. <\/p>\n

Weddle reported from Caracas. Milberg, Kelly, and Torres reported from Miami-Dade.<\/p>\n

More related reports<\/p>\n

American Airlines helps Venezuelans in U.S. with shorter flights to Caracas <\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Capt. Ric Wilson waved the Venezuelan flag with the eight stars from the captain\u2019s side window of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253441,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-253440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}