Venezuela's primary international airport, the Simon Bolivar International Airport in the capital city of Caracas, saw the number of inbound and outbound flights fall to far below the normal level after resuming operation amid fear from the Jan. 3 U.S. military strike on the country.
On Tuesday, the second day after the reopening, the airport's flight information-displaying screen showed that there were only eight arrivals of international flights Tuesday afternoon, and there would be nine arrivals of international flights on Wednesday, which were much less than normal days as the airport serves as the main gateway for international flights to and from Venezuela.
Alex from Australia planned to spend one month visiting relatives in Venezuela, but said he was caught in shock due to the U.S. strike just one day after arriving. For safety, he decided to leave Venezuela as soon as possible after the airport reopened.
"Operations happened, and we could see it around, the lights in the sky and stuff, so it was quite scary. The skies were orange for a long time and the buildings were shaking. We wish peace for everybody, and it's just quite sad, but I guess when you're not familiar with the circumstances, it's just, I guess, better to leave while you can leave," said Alex.
Some Venezuelan passengers at the airport said that the quick reopening proved Venezuela's resilience in dealing with crises.
"As a country, Venezuela has demonstrated its great ability to recover and adapt to changes. In the face of severe geopolitical and economic turbulences, we have shown incredible resilience, enabling markets, trade and airports to quickly resume operations under heavy pressure," said Venezuelan passenger Jose Villasmil.
In the early hours of Jan. 3, U.S. military forces carried out a series of strikes on Venezuela, taking by force Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, before putting them in custody in New York.
Caracas airport resumes operation amid fear from U.S. strike
China's two major power grid operators -- the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid) and China Southern Power Grid (CSG) -- reported a surge in investment in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring efforts to strengthen infrastructure construction and support high-quality socioeconomic development in China.
The State Grid said it completed fixed-asset investment worth 129 billion yuan (about 18.77 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three months of this year, up 37 percent the corresponding period of the previous year. The spending has driven more than 250 billion yuan (36 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across the wider industrial chain.
Key projects such as the Panxi ultra-high-voltage (UHV) alternating current (AC) line and the Anhui-Hubei back-to-back direct current (DC) project have seen ground broken for their construction, while several west-to-east power transmission projects have been upgraded.
Investment in connecting renewable energy generation to the grid was reported to have exceeded 10 billion yuan (1.45 billion U.S. dollars) from January to March, a year-on-year rise of more than 50 percent.
The CSG also reported robust growth in investment in the three-month period, with fixed-asset investment reaching 38.45 billion yuan (5.58 billion U.S. dollars), up about 50 percent from a year earlier.
Among its achievements, the company completed and commissioned 80 key projects, including the 220 kV cross-sea power grid interconnection project, which was officially put into operation on March 20. The project ended years of grid isolation on the Weizhou Island in south China by linking it to the main power system of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The construction of 17 other major energy projects, including one linking the power grid of the Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China with that of Guangdong Province in south China, is advancing rapidly. These projects are expected to bolster regional industries, the maritime economy, digital collaboration and the transition to green energy.
"By accelerating major project construction, investment during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) is expected to approach 1 trillion yuan (145 billion U.S. dollars), driving a further 2 trillion yuan (290 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across upstream and downstream industries," said Dong Yanle, deputy general manager of the Engineering Construction Department under the China Southern Power Grid.
China ramps up power grid investment in January-March to boost growth
