Venezuela says decision on U.S. airline ban still pending

[struggle4progress]

03/24/2006

By NATALIE OBIKO PEARSON / Associated Press


Venezuelan aviation authorities said Friday they have not yet decided whether to ban flights by U.S. carriers — though the U.S. ambassador earlier reported an accord to head off a ban.

U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield said late Thursday that the two countries had reached a temporary agreement to avert a potential airline crisis triggered by Venezuela's March 30 deadline to block most flights by U.S. carriers. That action was meant to protest safety restrictions by American aviation authorities.

But officials at Venezuela's National Aviation Institute, or INAC, said authorities had not decided to suspend the ban and were still discussing the matter.

Meanwhile, the president of the country's largest domestic airline called for Venezuelan authorities to follow through on the ban, saying it was the only way to get the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to lift safety restrictions that are out of date and allow fair competition in the Venezuelan market. <snip>

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