US airlines struggle to repatriate Venezuelan funds
Carriers ask the US transport department for an antitrust waver to help their cause
AIRLINES have a question for US regulators: mind if we collude a bit?The carriers have made an unusual request of the US transportation department: they want antitrust immunity for one year so they can collectively discuss ways to retrieve $3.8bn held hostage by Venezuela’s economic slide.Since 2013, Venezuelan officials have virtually halted the repatriation of past ticket sales made in bolivars, the local currency. Inflation has soared and foreign currency reserves have dwindled to $12bn, as the government of President Nicolás Maduro imposed various currency exchange rates and the economy fell into disarray and food shortages.As a result, the flow of money homeward has slowed to a trickle for many multinational corporations operating in Venezuela.Authorities first required government approval for the repatriation of foreign company sales in 2003. Over the past 21 months, Maduro’s government had allowed only two small payments to a pair of foreign carriers, says Jason Sinclair, a s...
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