Avior Airlines Tries to Return to Miami: Venezuela's Most Active Domestic Airline

History and positioning

In the years following the US-Venezuela flight ban imposed in 2019, Avior became the country's main domestic carrier, filling the gap left by larger international airlines that had withdrawn from the Venezuelan market in that period. Based in Barquisimeto, the airline carried about 400,000 passengers in 2025, of which about 314,000-315,000 on nine domestic routes and the rest on international links, a volume that makes it today the Venezuelan carrier with the broadest domestic network still in operation.

In February 2026 it submitted to the US Department of Transportation a two-year authorization request to resume flights to Miami and Houston from Caracas, Maracaibo and Barcelona, a step that would mark the first return to the US market since the 2019 ban, coinciding with the gradual reopening of Venezuelan airspace announced by the US administration.

The fleet

The fleet is built around classic Boeing 737 models, in particular 737-200s and 737-400s, for an indicative total of about eight aircraft: a direct consequence of the difficulty of acquiring more recent jets under the pressure of US sanctions on the Venezuelan aviation sector, which limit access to new orders, spare parts and Western leasing services.

Routes and network

Nine domestic routes among Caracas, Maracaibo and Barcelona make up the bulk of traffic, joined by a smaller international network to Colombia, a market where the airline is expanding its presence with new commercial agreements. The routes to Miami and Houston requested from the DOT, if approved, would for now be limited to Barcelona-Miami, Caracas-Miami, Maracaibo-Miami and Barcelona-Houston.

What passengers say

• Broadest domestic network among the Venezuelan carriers still active.
• Domestic fares relatively affordable compared with the alternatives available in the country.
• Frequency of flights on the main routes judged higher than that of other local carriers.

What they flag as limits

• Older-generation aircraft than international competitors.
• Maintenance and access to spare parts complicated by the sanctions in force on the sector.
• Limited interline options for those who need to continue on an international flight outside the Avior network.

Avior is the most practical choice for those who need to get around between Venezuelan cities today, given how much domestic alternatives in the country have shrunk. It is not yet a reliable option for Venezuela-United States connections, because the routes to Miami and Houston remain for now a request awaiting authorization, not an active service. Anyone considering booking Avior to the United States should check that the Department of Transportation has actually granted the authorization, since the February 2026 application did not yet guarantee an operating flight at the time of the request.