United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare) is set to incorporate a technical stop on the inbound sector of its Houston Intercontinental-Caracas Simón Bolivar flights given increasing concerns about the security situation in the Venezuelan capital.
Schedule data shows that starting April 4, United's Caracas service will stop for just one hour in Aruba before continuing on to Caracas. The flight has a one-hour turnaround in Caracas with the outbound sector proceeding non-stop back to Houston.
Travel blog Boarding Area suggests that the reason for the Aruba stop is to ensure the safety of crew, although no official announcement has come from United as to the reason. It is noted that United does not have 5th Freedom rights to/from Aruba so will not be setting down or picking up passengers en route.
Caracas is considered to be one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Last year, the Mexico Citizens Council for Public Security placed it at number one, based on the number of homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.
According to the ch-aviation route database, other passenger airlines which serve the Caracas-US market include Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, SBA Airlines, and Dynamic International Airways.
