Caracas, July 9, 2026 (Lusa) - TAP will resume flights to and from Venezuela on 13 July, using Arturo Michelena Airport in Valencia, 170 kilometres west of Caracas, announced the secretary of state for Portuguese Communities (SEC), Emídio Sousa.
Flights to and from this airport are being operated as an alternative to Simón Bolívar Airport in Maiquetía, the country’s main airport, which is currently closed following structural damage caused by the earthquakes that struck the country on 24 June.
“We are about to resume TAP flights. Next Monday, TAP will fly to Valencia, resuming a weekly flight, and the aim is to increase this to two flights a week,” Emídio Sousa told Lusa.
He explained that “TAP’s return to Venezuela will also bring a further seven and a half tonnes of pharmaceutical products, which the ministry of health has made available” from Portuguese pharmaceutical companies.
“There are many people who want to come, and others who want to leave, so TAP’s return to Valencia airport next week is also good news for everyone who wants to travel".
On Wednesday, Emídio Sousa began a four-day visit to Venezuela, where he visited the state of La Guaira – the region of the country most affected by the earthquakes – and met with the Portuguese rescue and relief team, diplomatic authorities and members of the local Portuguese community.
“Over the next few days, I will be in contact with the Venezuelan authorities to identify the most urgent aid needs, to discuss the future, to consider reconstruction, and to assure them that Portugal will always stand by the Venezuelan people, just as it has done until now. For us, Venezuela is not just any country; it is a sister nation, and we want to be involved in humanitarian aid, in supporting Venezuela’s development and its future economic growth, because we believe that Venezuela has everything it needs to be a great country and to improve the living conditions of Venezuelans and the many Portuguese people living here,” he said.
This is Emídio Sousa’s second visit to Caracas this year, “this one, unfortunately,” he emphasised, “due to the tragedy that has befallen the nation”.
“But we have been committed from the very start. Initially, by sending rescue and relief teams. We managed, within 24 hours, to send a team of 64 people, including dogs, doctors, a great deal of equipment, rescue workers and firefighters,” he said, emphasising that this was an experienced team that had been deployed to earthquakes in Turkey and Morocco, and whose operational capabilities and technical expertise proved very useful.
He explained that “the first phase, which is search and rescue, has ended” and that “today [Wednesday], finding anyone alive in the rubble will be almost impossible. It would take nothing short of a miracle”.
“So, we are now entering phase 2, which is the humanitarian aid phase. I have arrived with two Air Force aircraft loaded with humanitarian aid, including 12 tonnes of various food, hygiene and sanitation kits; two fully equipped ambulances donated by the Red Cross, which can serve as mobile medical posts; and one and a half tonnes of materials provided by the Navy, [including] tools for certain operations that need to be carried out on the ground”, he said.
Emídio Sousa also emphasised that, in addition to the humanitarian aid, Portugal has already made €400,000 available to support two projects to be carried out by Cáritas and Oikos, which are expected to assist 1,500 families.
The earthquakes that struck Venezuela on 24 June caused at least 3,811 deaths and 16,740 injuries, according to the latest official figures.
Among the dead are at least 102 Portuguese nationals and people of Portuguese descent, whilst a further 57 are missing or cannot be contacted.
Several countries, including Portugal and other European Union member states, have sent search and rescue teams to Venezuela.
The operations base for the Portuguese earthquake response mission is located in Catia la Mar, in La Guaira, an area with a large concentration of Portuguese nationals and people of Portuguese descent, and one of the worst-affected areas.
The earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, struck 200 kilometres from Caracas, less than a minute apart, and were followed by more than 1,100 aftershocks, according to the United States Geological Survey.
FPG/AYLS // AYLS
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