Copa Airlines: Venezuela suspends flights to and from Panama

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) – Copa Airlines said on Tuesday that Venezuela had decided to temporarily suspend all commercial flights between Panama and Venezuela starting Wednesday evening.

The Panamanian airline said the suspension would take effect at 8:00 p.m. Venezuelan time and apologized to its customers for any inconvenience caused by the decision.

The Venezuelan Ministry of Transport said in a statement that it would temporarily suspend flights to and from Panama and the Dominican Republic due to the respective governments’ interference in Venezuelan affairs.

The Ministry of Transport said the decision was “taken on the assumption that civil aviation is being used for purposes incompatible with safety principles”.

Panama and the Dominican Republic were among the countries that called for a full audit of Sunday’s presidential elections in Venezuela, involving independent observers.

Venezuela announced on Monday that it would withdraw its diplomatic personnel from seven Latin American countries, including Panama and the Dominican Republic.

(Reporting by Elida Moreno, writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez, editing by Brendan O’Boyle)