Aviation History
Venezuelan civil aviation traces to 1929, when the French Aéropostale began operations later nationalized in 1933 into LAV (Línea Aeropostal Venezolana), which grew into Aeropostal. The state carrier VIASA, founded in 1960, served as Venezuela's international flag carrier until financial troubles following a failed 1990s privatization led to its 1997 closure. Today's state flag carrier, Conviasa, was founded in 2004; Venezuela's aviation sector has since been severely constrained by economic crisis and by evolving, still-changing U.S. sanctions targeting Conviasa and government officials since 2019-2020, a situation that should be understood as ongoing rather than settled.
French airline Aéropostale started air services in Venezuela on 3 July 1929, laying the groundwork for the country's first national carrier.
The Venezuelan government acquired the airline, renaming it Línea Aeropostal Venezolana (LAV) as it passed into Venezuelan hands by 1935.
Venezolana Internacional de Aviación S.A. (VIASA) was established in November 1960, jointly owned by the government and private investors, to serve as Venezuela's international flag carrier.
VIASA was privatized with Spain's Iberia acquiring a significant stake, part of a broader Latin American airline privatization wave.
Following the failure of its privatization arrangement, VIASA shut down, ending Venezuela's original international flag carrier.
The Venezuelan government founded Conviasa (Consorcio Venezolano de Industrias Aeronáuticas y Servicios Aéreos) as the new state-owned flag carrier.
The U.S. Treasury designated Conviasa under sanctions, alleging the airline was used to transport officials linked to the Maduro government; sanctions on the carrier and affiliated individuals have continued to evolve in subsequent years and should not be treated as a fixed, unchanging status.
Conviasa (state flag carrier, currently under evolving U.S. sanctions) · Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela · Avior Airlines · Laser Airlines · VIASA (historical, 1960-1997)
Wikipedia, U.S. Treasury/OFAC press releases, airline corporate history, aviation news (Simple Flying, Flightradar24)