PANAMA CITY - Copa Airlines chief executive Pedro Heilborn said last week that they are "practically alone" in Venezuela as most of the airlines flying to the South American country have decided to cancel their services because of the political and social crisis.

“We are practically staying alone in that market. Our intention is not to leave, not abandon the market of Venezuela. We have loyal passengers, who move between Panama and Venezuela, but we also connect Venezuela with South America, Central America, and the US,” Heilborn said in an interview on the local Panamanian channel Telemetro.

Currently, the Panamanian airline has five daily flights to Venezuela (three to Caracas, two to Maracaibo and one to Valencia), because it is a country “that needs us”, said the manager.

Heilborn explained that the company has had to make certain logistical changes due to security reasons and that for some time now the planes have not stayed overnight at Venezuelan airports.