Simón Bolívar International Airport (Venezuela)

Maiquetía "Simón Bolívar" International Airport (IATA: CCS, ICAO: SVMI, Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional de Maiquetía "Simón Bolívar") is an international airport located in Maiquetía, Vargas, Venezuela, serving Caracas, the capital of the country, the center of which is about 21 kilometres (13 mi) to the west. Commonly known simply as Maiquetía by the local population, it is the main international air passenger gateway to Venezuela. The airport handles flights to several destinations in Central and South America as well as a few services to Spain, Russia and China although many international routes have been terminated since 2014. History Early years (1945−2012) The airport opened in 1945 as the Maiquetía International Airport (Aeropuerto Internacional de Maiquetía). The site had been recommended as an appropriate location for an airport by Charles Lindbergh on behalf of Pan Am. The USA subsidised the construction of the airport as part of the Airport Development Program. The original passenger terminal was designed by architect Luis Malaussena. In the 1950s, under the regime of dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez, road transport between the airport and the capital was improved by the inauguration of the Caracas-La Guaira highway, and the La Guaira and Caracas Railway, dating from the nineteenth century, was closed. Between 1952 and 1962, two new wings were added to the passenger terminal, and the runway was expanded to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). Lighting was installed on the runway and approach zones to allow night operations. A new runway was built in 1956, and in 1962 extended to 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) long by 60 metres (200 ft) wide. From the late 1970s until the 1980s Air France operated a weekly service by the Anglo-French supersonic airliner Concorde between Caracas and Paris, with a stop at the airport of Santa Maria in the Atlantic Ocean Azores archipelago. In the 1970s a new international terminal was constructed to offer increased capacity, with a domestic terminal opening in 1983. Viasa, the flag-carrier of Venezuela, ceased operations on 23 January 1997. Since 2000, the airport has been undergoing major changes in order to meet international standards and to improve passenger traffic, security, immigration areas, and customs areas. Security measures have become top priority since the September 11, 2001 attacks, and departure and arrival areas are completely separate, in the lower and upper levels of the airport. Proyecto Maiquetía 2000 (Project Maiquetia 2000) was completed in 2007, adding added new customs and immigration areas, a new cargo terminal, and a connecting passageway between the domestic and international terminal. In March 2007, Iran Air introduced service to Tehran via Damascus. It had a codeshare agreement with Conviasa, which took over the route seven months later. Conviasa ended its non-stop service to Damascus in August 2012. Crisis in Venezuela (2012−2026) During the crisis in Bolivarian Venezuela, continuing as of 2025, domestic airlines are laboring under tremendous difficulties because of hyperinflation and parts shortages. Many international airlines left the country, including Aeroméxico, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Air Canada, Alitalia, Avianca, Delta Air Lines, Lufthansa, LATAM, and United Airlines, making travel to the country difficult. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Bolivarian government has not paid US$3.8 billion to international airlines in a currency issue involving conversion of local currency to U.S. dollars. Reasons for airlines to leave also include crime against flight crews, stolen baggage, and problems with the quality of jet fuel and maintenance of runways. In 2016, the jetways in the international terminal were replaced with new glass-walled jetways. Following the increasing economic partnership between Venezuela and Turkey in October 2016, Turkish Airlines started offering direct flights from December 2016 connecting between Caracas to Istanbul (via Havana, Cuba) in an effort to "link and expand contacts" between the two countries. By 2018, terminals in the airport lacked air conditioning and utilities such as water and electricity. Flight crews are often sent to stay in different cities to avoid crime that occurs in the area. The company charged with providing sanitation services ceased to exist, so the airport buildings were cleaned less frequently. The Bolivarian National Guard, tasked with providing security, often extorts travelers by force. In support of President Nicolas Maduro's government, Russian Air Force aircraft, including Tupolev Tu-160 bombers, were deployed to the airport in early December 2018. In March 2019, two Russian planes were deployed to the airport carrying 100 troops and 35 tonnes of matériel; they stayed until 26 June 2019, according to a Russian embassy announcement. American Airlines, the last U.S. airline serving Venezuela, left on 15 March 2019, after its pilots refused to fly to Venezuela, citing safety issues. Two months later, the United States Department of Transportation and Department of Homeland Security indefinitely suspended all flights between Venezuela and the United States, due to safety and security concerns. The suspension affects mainly Venezuelan airlines that flew to Miami: Avior Airlines, LASER Airlines, and Estelar Latinoamerica. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government announced on 3 February 2020 that the country had imposed epidemiological surveillance, restrictions and diagnostic systems to detect possible COVID-19 cases at this airport and that Venezuela would receive a diagnostic kit for the virus strain from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Following the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election, flights to Panama and Dominican Republic were suspended on 31 July 2024. Post-Maduro period and the earthquakes (2026−present) In 2026, three weeks after the ousting of then-president Nicolás Maduro, US President Donald Trump ordered the country's acting president Delcy Rodríguez to reopen flights to the Venezuelan airspace after a 7-year hiatus and scheduled international flights to Miami, Florida. The first flights were operated by American Airlines, which last served the route in March 2019. On June 24, 2026, two major earthquakes struck northern Venezuela and severely damaged infrastructure across the area. Due to the damage sustained, the airport was forced to close indefinitely. Gallery Airlines and destinations Passenger The following airlines operate regular scheduled passenger flights at Simón Bolívar International Airport: Cargo Chronology of former international flights In 2004, KLM Dutch Airlines It was the first major airline to end its operations in Venezuela citting official reason the "consolidation" of operations with their partners Air France, making its last flight to Venezuela in February 2005. In 2005, British Airways also stopped operating direct flights to Venezuela from London in February 2005, because the route continued to lose money and the decision was due to commercial reasons. Since 2014, foreign and domestic carriers have reduced and/or terminated their presence due to political instability and their inability to recover US$3.8 billion in funds owed to airlines. Some carriers have scheduled stops in nearby countries so that flight crews do not have to stay overnight in Caracas, considered unsafe. In November 2025, Venezuela withdrew operating permits from six airlines, Iberia, TAP, Avianca, Latam Colombia, Turkish Airlines, and Gol, after they suspended their routes following a US warning about risks in Venezuelan airspace. The table below outlines the chronology of route terminations since 2013. Other facilities From 1960 to 1997, it was the main hub for Viasa, Venezuela's former flag carrier until it went bankrupt in January 1997. It was also the hub for Avensa, Servivensa. Conviasa started operation in 2004, hoping to become a major airline, and flag carrier. However, due to their low pay, several pilots were leaving Conviasa from 2016 after getting "better offers from other countries". The headquarters of Conviasa is located on the airport grounds. Accidents and incidents On 27 November 1956, Linea Aeropostal Flight 253, a Lockheed Constellation, crashed while on final approach to Caracas Airport. All 25 passengers and crew on board were killed. On 12 December 1968, Pan Am Flight 217 crashed while on approach to Caracas. All 51 passengers and crew on board were killed. On 3 December 1969, Air France Flight 212 crashed shortly after takeoff from Simón Bolívar International Airport. All 62 passengers and crew on board were killed. On 3 November 1980, a Latin Carga Convair CV-880 crashed on take-off from the airport, killing its four occupants and destroying the aircraft, registration YV-145C, which had flown from 1962 to January 1974 for US Delta Air Lines, then sold to Latin Carga in 1979. On September 24, 2025, a Learjet 55, registration YV-3440, crashed during take-off, injuring at least two passengers. In popular culture The airport is shown in the 1981 movie Menudo: La Película, when a pair of Menudo's friends board a flight during the film's final scenes. The airport is also shown in the 1975 French film Le Sauvage starring Catherine Deneuve and Yves Montand, and several soap-opera and movie key scenes were filmed at the airport. See also Los Roques Airport – an airport serving Los Roques archipelago national park, remotely controlled from Simón Bolívar International Airport List of airports in Venezuela List of airlines of Venezuela References External links Media related to Simón Bolívar International Airport (Venezuela) at Wikimedia Commons Aeropuerto Internacional de Maiquetía "Simón Bolívar" (official website) Accident history for CCS at Aviation Safety Network