State-owned Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) is yet to collect more than US$50 million from its ticket sales in Venezuela. The sums outstanding are for t 2013 to 2014 and sources at the airline said overtures to relevant agencies in Venezuela to recover the outstanding sums, including at the diplomatic level, have all been unsuccessful.
During an official visit to T&T in February 2015, Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro had promised that the outstanding sums would be repatriated to CAL. However, the funds remain sequestered in financial institution in that country.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) the Venezuelan government owes roughly US$3.7 billion to airlines around the world that have been making flights into the country.
Since October 2013, several airlines have opted to decrease or cease services to Venezuela.