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Venezuela bars Continental and Delta
Edited for brevity.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. Francisco Plaz, president of the National Aviation Institute, said 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 and has failed to recognize improvements since then. The orders would take effect on March 1, Plaz told the local Globovision television channel. 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. Posted by: Dar 2006-02-24 |
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