Miami has 38% of US capacity to South America; flights to Venezuela return
Due to the considerable diaspora and American’s hub, Miami is, of course, by far the largest US gateway to South America. Excluding the US, Cirium schedule data shows that Miami is the world’s third-busiest airport to South America, after Panama City and Madrid.
In 2026, Miami has 3.9 million one-way seats to South America, which is the seventh-best year to date. Available capacity jumped by 5% year-over-year but is 9% lower than the peak, which was achieved in 2015. This is despite Emirates extending its Dubai-Miami route to Bogota in 2024 (daily).
In contrast, when the full US is considered, South American capacity has risen to the highest level yet. 10.4 million one-way seats are now available, which is only the second year (after 2025) to exceed the 10 million milestone. This wider growth means the share of Miami capacity has fallen to 38%, which is the second-lowest proportion ever. Back in 2004, it was 56%.
American has almost half of the market
Cirium indicates that nine passenger operators fly between Miami to South America. This is based on combining different units, each with separate AOCs and operating licences, where the same branding exists.
With 48% of the seats, American is, of course, comfortably the largest carrier. It now has 16 routes. While Brazil used to be American’s most-served country in the continent, it is now Colombia.
Compared to last year, the oneworld airline’s capacity has risen by 9%. This was influenced by resumed flying to Caracas and Maracaibo, both of which were last served 2019. Flights to Caracas returned on 30 April 2026 (initially daily, now 2-daily), followed by Maracaibo on 17 July (daily).
In the past 20 years or so, American has ceased flying to 15 airports across the continent: Asuncion, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Cordoba, Curitiba, La Paz, Manaus, Paramaribo, Pereira, Porto Alegre, Recife, Salvador, San Andres Island, Santa Cruz and Sao Paulo VCP. It has ceased flying to Bolivia, Paraguay and Suriname. The most recently ended route was to Pereira, Colombia, which ceased in 2024.
Bogota is the top market
Miami has passenger flights to 22 airports in South America this year. They are in 10 countries, with Venezuela being served for the first time in seven years. While Caracas and Maracaibo are linked to South Florida, Barcelona and Valencia also had flights. Aeropostal Airlines flew to Valencia-Miami until 2008, while Barcelona-Miami was part of Avior Airlines’ network until 2019.
A third of the total capacity is to Colombia. Five cities have flights: Barranquilla, Bogota, Cali, Cartagena and Medellin. Previously, Bucaramanga, Pereira, San Andres Island and Santa Marta were served. In contrast, Uruguay has the fewest seats, with American flying to Montevideo on a winter-only basis (up to daily).
With 618,000 one-way seats, Miami to Bogota is the most-served city pair. This is the third-highest capacity to date, exceeded only by what was available in 2025 (685,000) and 2024 (661,000). Compared to before the pandemic in 2019, non-stop seats have risen by 47%.
60-weekly departures are available in August, provided by Avianca (27), American (14), LATAM (12) and Emirates (7). Only Emirates uses widebody equipment (777-200LR/777-300ER), which helps with freight uplift. Previously, the other airlines did so: American (until 2022), Avianca (until 2025) and LATAM (until 2025).
