Lufthansa latest to halt ticket sales to Caracas

[CARACAS] Deutsche Lufthansa AG suspended ticket sales to Caracas, what one executive called its most profitable Latin American destination, joining airlines that have taken similar actions over Venezuela's currency controls.

Panama's Copa Holdings SA said recently it would cut routes to Venezuela, saying it's owned US$488 million by the government.

Chief executive officer Pedro Heilbron said he wanted to reduce that amount to one "that is totally manageable". Airlines had an equivalent of US$3.9 billion stuck in bolivars as at April, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Those sales in the local currency can't be repatriated because of a decade-long system of controls.

The group said currency restrictions have prompted at least 11 carriers to cut capacity, sales or routes to South America's largest oil exporter in the past year. - Bloomberg