Minister Garcés: In 12 weeks the infrastructure of Maiquetía Airport will be recovered

Published at: 27/07/2026 09:15 PM

The Minister of People's Power for Transport, Francisco Garcés, assured that it will take between 10 and 12 weeks for Maiquetía International Airport to operate again, which was damaged after the double earthquake of last June 24.

In an interview with Globovision, he stressed that there will be a partial and progressive recovery of its capacities, in addition to the adoption of special operational measures that will allow the service to be provided in a short time.

“Of course, it's not immediate; you'd have to wait several weeks for this to happen. We could talk about a period of 10 to 12 weeks for a total recovery, while all teams are working continuously to move forward gradually,” he said.

Garcés pointed out that in a few months, Maiquetía International Airport will not be fully recovered to its capacity, but there will be a progressive reactivation of its activities. In the meantime, there will continue to be the support of authorized alternative airports.

“Especially the airports of Valencia and Barcelona, which although they have a smaller operating and service capacity than Maiquetía, are supporting and contributing to Venezuelan air communication, especially with the outside world. They are working very well,” he said.

He also explained that the airport was out of service because its equipment suffered significant damage. “When I talk about equipment, I refer to the infrastructure that supports air operations; that is, where people are checked, the baggage system and all that area of an airport that has a large area,” he said.

Garcés said that the main runway was not affected, allowing air operations to continue relatively normally from the first days after the earthquakes. However, the infrastructure terminal did suffer significant damage that requires specialized technical intervention.

He said that “the good news is that structural damage is absolutely recoverable and not of a large amount. There are some damages, as seen in an image where a beam falls, but fortunately it is a small section within the facilities. There are other minor and medium damages that are also repairable, so at this stage the airport is being intervened to recover its operability and repair minor damage.”

Mazo News Team