After FAA Talks, Venezuela Holds Back U.S. Airline Ban

Venezuela has postponed until next month a measure restricting flights by U.S. airlines after holding talks with U.S. officials to end a dispute over aviation safety.

Venezuela´s INAC aviation agency said Wednesday it had suspended the restrictions on U.S. carriers until April 25 to await the results of a safety audit carried out by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration this week.

Venezuela warned in February it would curtail flights by American Airlines, Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines from March 30 if the FAA did not lift decade-old restrictions on Venezuelan airlines flying to U.S. airports.

The threatened airline restrictions had heightened political tensions between left-wing President Hugo Chavez and the United States, which receives about 15 percent of its energy imports from Venezuela, the world´s No. 5 oil exporter.

Venezuela says it has improved aviation safety standards since it was first downgraded by the FAA in 1995, a move that imposed restrictions on Venezuelan airline services to U.S. airports.