United Airlines will return to Venezuela in August 2026, restoring nonstop service between Houston and Caracas after a nine-year absence from the country.
The airline plans to launch daily flights between George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Simón Bolívar International Airport on August 11, 2026, using Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. United said tickets for the route are now on sale.
The route will reconnect United’s Houston hub with Venezuela as commercial air service between the United States and Venezuela begins to reopen. United last served Venezuela in June 2017, after operating in the market for more than 20 years.
United Senior Vice President of Global Network Planning and Alliances Patrick Quayle said the flight will strengthen cultural and economic ties across the Americas and reinforce Houston’s role as a gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean.
United said it now offers up to 100 daily flights from Houston to more than 50 destinations across the region.
The move follows the US government’s decision to lift a 2019 suspension on direct commercial passenger and cargo flights between the US and Venezuela. The Department of Homeland Security said in an April 17, 2026 Federal Register notice that conditions in Venezuela no longer required the suspension and that the Department of Transportation had rescinded the 2019 order.
The US imposed the suspension in 2019 after citing safety and security concerns tied to Venezuela’s political and economic crisis. The ban cut off direct scheduled commercial flights between the two countries.
United will not be the first US carrier to return. American Airlines resumed Miami-Caracas service in April 2026, ending a nearly seven-year period without scheduled US airline service to Venezuela.
American initially restarted the route with Envoy Air Embraer E175 aircraft and plans to add a second daily flight.
The Houston route gives United a business travel link into Venezuela at a time when the US and Venezuela are working to rebuild economic ties. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the United flights will help move oil-sector workers into the country as the two nations look to expand production and forge new business ties.
Other international carriers are also adding Venezuela service. Qatar Airways said it will launch twice-weekly Doha-Bogotá-Caracas flights on July 22, 2026, becoming the first Gulf carrier to serve Venezuela.
