The Venezuelan government contacted us today to advise us that they are implementing new procedures for how they will be managing the payment of airspace fees. These new procedures are more restrictive than anything we have seen in the region.

Starting October 01, 2013 all aircraft operators that do not have a local invoicing code with the Venezuelan Government must now pay for their Venezuelan airspace fees BEFORE they make a flight. Failing to pre-pay your flight will result in denial of entry into Venezuelan airspace. Venezuelan airspace fees are currently calculated based on the MTOW of the aircraft and number of 100 Km flight segments. It is also one of the most expensive FIR's in the western hemisphere. The new procedure for calculating and making payments will not be available until the October 01 implementation date so we only have generalized information provided to us by government staff. However, the idea is that you have to calculate the amount that will be owed in advance of the flight, make the wire transfer and then report the wire transfer to the Venezuelan government authorities prior to the flight so that you will be allowed through their airspace. If you make the payment and then DO NOT make the flight, you WILL NOT be refunded the amount paid, it will supposedly remain as a credit.

Basically, we will have to wait until October 01 when the veil is lifted so that we can see what the system can (and can't) do and get more details to the multitude of questions that users will have.

In the meantime, the Venezuelan authorities have indicated that they are checking all unpaid balances to make sure that no aircraft are allowed into their airspace that have not paid all fees owed in the past and in the future.

Therefore, if you have a flight that will take you through Venezuelan airspace during the beginning of October, you should consider a route around this airspace or be preprared for unexpected delays as there is no time being factored in by the Venezuelan government for de-bugging, training, preparation, procedures, etc. If you MUST fly through this airspace during these dates, you are urged to contact Caribbean Sky Tours or the Venezuelan government to check your status and make arrangements so that your flight is not blocked.

For more details, call Caribbean Sky Tours at 1-786-206-6147 or send us an email to info@caribbeanskytours.com

Last edited by Rick; 09/24/13 02:59 PM.
Rick Gardner
Caribbean Sky Tours