CARACAS — Come to Venezuela and you might get a longer trip than you bargained for.
The US Embassy in Caracas issued an advisory Tuesday urging Americans to be careful when traveling to Venezuela because of the steep drop in airline service to the South American country.
The number of seats on flights between Venezuela and the United States has fallen by more than half since the beginning of the year, according to the Venezuela Airlines Association.
The three largest US carriers — Delta, American, and United — all slashed their service to Venezuela this summer.
The cause: a dispute over some $4 billion in cash trapped in the socialist country.
Decade-old currency controls mean that airlines need government approval to convert local earnings into dollars.
And the socialist government, running low on dollars itself, has been preventing carriers from repatriating revenue, with some airlines waiting more than a year.
Each successive reduction in service has left passengers scrambling to rebook seats, often for significantly more than they first paid. The scarcity of flights has sent airfares soaring; a one-way ticket to New York now costs more than $1,000.
While most carriers have reduced service, some, including Air Canada and Italy’s Alitalia, have left Venezuela altogether.