- United Airlines will resume daily nonstop flights between Houston and Caracas starting August 11, 2026.
- The service restores a route suspended eight years ago due to Venezuela’s previous economic and political climate.
- Flights will utilize Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, specifically catering to oil sector workers and regional business.
(HOUSTON, TEXAS, USA) – United Airlines announced on May 12, 2026, that it will resume daily nonstop flights between George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and Simón BolÃvar International Airport in Caracas, restoring the Houston–Caracas route after an eight-year break.
The carrier said the service will begin on August 11, 2026, with tickets already on sale through United’s website and mobile app. The flights remain subject to final government approval.
United will operate the route daily with a Boeing 737 MAX 8. Flight UA 1046 will leave Houston at 23:45 and arrive in Caracas at 05:30 the following day, while return flight UA 1045 will depart Caracas at 08:00 and land in Houston at 12:30.
The airline blocked the southbound flight at 4 hours 45 minutes and the northbound leg at 5 hours 30 minutes. The route covers 2,260 miles.
United suspended Houston–Caracas service in June 2017 after more than 20 years of operation. At the time, the airline cited declining demand amid Venezuela’s economic and political crisis and said the route was not meeting financial expectations.
The return of direct U.S.-Venezuela service followed a policy shift in Washington. The Department of Homeland Security said in an April 17, 2026 Federal Register notice that conditions in Venezuela no longer required the 2019 suspension on direct commercial passenger and cargo flights, and the Department of Transportation rescinded the 2019 order.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy tied the resumption to broader U.S.-Venezuela ties and to energy activity. “United’s first flight to Venezuela in eight years marks another exciting development in the relationship between our two countries. Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, my Department is proud to partner with United to make this historic day a reality. This specific flight will be critical to ferrying oil sector workers into the country as the U.S. and Venezuela work together to expand production and generate new economic opportunities.”
The schedule gives United a late-night departure from Houston and an early-morning arrival into Caracas, followed by a morning return to Texas. That pattern places the service squarely in United’s overnight Latin America operation from its Houston hub.
From Houston, the airline offers up to 100 daily flights to more than 50 destinations across Latin America. United said travelers can also connect onward to over 180 global cities through the hub.
The market position is notable. United becomes the second U.S. carrier to return to Venezuela after American Airlines resumed service to Caracas from Miami.
On board, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 assigned to the route carries 166 seats in total. That includes 16 first class seats, marketed as business class on international flights, and 150 economy seats.
Passengers on the aircraft will have seatback screens with Bluetooth connectivity, along with access to Apple TV and HBO Max. United is using a narrowbody aircraft rather than a larger long-haul jet for the restored Houston–Caracas service, matching the route’s sub-six-hour stage length.
The resumption reopens a nonstop link that had disappeared from United’s network since 2017. For Houston, one of the airline’s largest gateways to Latin America, the restored service adds Caracas back to a map that already spans dozens of cities across the region.
The move also puts United Airlines back into a market it once served for more than two decades, this time with a daily Houston–Caracas operation timed around overnight flying and built around the Boeing 737 MAX 8.
