This was in Travel Weekly last week

Venezuela to delay restricting U.S. airline service (02/27/2006)
By Andrew Compart

Washington --Travelers with tickets to fly on U.S. carriers to Venezuela
can rest assured … at least for four more weeks.

The Venezuelan government said it will wait until at least March 30 to
impose restrictions on U.S. airline service to its country, including its
plan to ban all Delta and Continental service and limit American service to
three daily flights out of Miami.

Venezuela’s Civil Aviation Authority, w! hich had announced Feb. 23 it
planned to implement the restrictions March 1, said it will use the extra
time to try to find a resolution for the issues that led to its retaliatory
plan.

Venezuela is upset about long-standing U.S. restrictions on Venezuelan
carrier service to the U.S.

Those restrictions are based on the Federal Aviation Administration’s
determination in 1996 that Venezuela’s aviation system did not comply with
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards.

The FAA placed Venezuela in what it calls “Category 2” status, where it has
remained despite efforts to convince the FAA it now meets the standards and
should be upgraded to “Category 1.”

That’s important because airlines in a Category 2 country cannot start
service to the U.S. or increase their existing service to the U.S., unless
they use aircraft and crews leased from a company in the U.S. or a Category
1 country.

! Many countries bristle at the FAA’s program to judge and categorize the
safety of their aviation systems. In its latest statement, Venezuela
complained it remains under restriction even though it now meets 89% of
ICAO’s standards and recommendations.

The Civil Aviation Authority said it decided to postpone its plan after
meeting Feb. 24 with the U.S. passenger and cargo airlines that would be
affected, and receiving U.S. government interest in discussing the issue.
But the authority made it clear Venezuela still expects a settlement that
gives its airlines “equality of opportunity” in the U.S. market.