Some Venezuelan airlines have continued to operate international routes normally after the United States unilaterally announced a complete closure of Venezuelan and surrounding airspace on Nov.29.
According to a China Central Television (CCTV) reporter who visited Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, some 20 kilometers from capital Caracas, on Friday, only Venezuelan airlines are still operating international flights to and from the port.
Due to visa-free travel for Venezuelan citizens to Colombia, there is very high demand for flights between the two countries. The restaurants and supermarkets in the waiting area have continued to provide services as usual in the evening, and the entire boarding process was orderly.
The overall occupancy rate is around 70 percent, according to the reporter, after a flight of more than three hours to Colombia.
Venezuela is currently actively expanding its international air routes. Media reported on Dec. 8 that Venezuelan Transport Minister Ramon Celestino Velasquez Araguayan announced that within 10 days Venezuelan airlines will have 33 active international routes, expanding from 17 routes earlier this month.
Some Venezuelan int'l flights operate normally after US announces airspace closure
The closure of Poipet border crossing, the largest land border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia, has left large numbers of people stranded on both sides of the border and unable to return home amid continuing clashes.
At the Thai side of the border on Saturday, security personnel carried out strict checks on all vehicles and people at a distance of about 500 meters from the Poipet crossing, and only those holding Cambodian documents and relevant personnel were allowed access to the area.
"I have been in Thailand for about three to four years, working in a factory. Now the situation at the border is not good, so I want to go back to my hometown," said one of the stranded Cambodian nationals.
Another more than 20 Cambodian nationals failed to go home through the Poipet border crossing on Saturday, and were later picked up by a kind-hearted Thai local, who said that many groups of Cambodians had tried to cross the border every day but failed recently.
"They have no place to sleep, and they would be bitten by mosquitoes if sleeping outdoors, so I want to take them to my place. They just can't go through this checkpoint," said the local.
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said at a press conference Saturday that 6,000 to 7,000 Thai nationals were stranded on the Cambodian side of the Poipet border checkpoint.
Closure of Poipet border crossing leaves many stranded amid clashes
