Venezuela will halt or cut flights by US carriers Delta Air Lines, Continental Airlines and American Airlines in the latest dispute between the two countries, government and airline officials said on Friday.
Washington said it could weigh possible countermeasures should Caracas press ahead with suspension.
The restrictions on US passenger and cargo flights came after Washington refused to lift US limits on Venezuelan carriers flying to the United States put in place in 1995 due to safety concerns, Venezuela's INAC aviation authority said.
Relations between Venezuela and the United States hit a low earlier this month when left-wing President Hugo Chavez expelled a US military attache accused of spying and Washington responded with a tit-for-tat expulsion of a Venezuelan diplomat.
Venezuela's airline association ALAV, which represents carriers, said the measure would cancel some American flights and halt all Continental and Delta flights when it goes into effect on March 1.
"INAC has exhausted all conciliatory avenues with the US aviation authorities... and has not been able to re-establish rights the bilateral accord gives to Venezuelan air carriers," the Venezuelan agency said in a statement.
US State Department spokesman Eric Watnik said in Washington that Venezuela had not consulted Washington before notifying US carriers that their flights would be canceled or sharply reduced. He said the move violated a 1953 US-Venezuela Air Transport Services Agreement.
"We are working to resolve this serious dispute," Watnik said. "If Venezuela proceeds with its announced plans, we will consider options for an appropriate response."
Roberto Pulido, an ALAV association representative, said US airline officials had met Venezuelan authorities on Friday to discuss the measure and its impact.
"We are very disappointed by this unilateral action by the Venezuelan government and are working closely with the US departments of State and Transport as will as our peer carriers," Delta spokesman John Kennedy said.
Continental Airlines said in a statement the measure would halt all its operations from March but that it would maintain its daily Caracas-to-Houston flight and a weekly Caracas-to-Newark flight while negotiations were under way.
The airline flap is the latest to strain relations between Washington and Caracas.
US officials say former soldier Chavez and ally Cuba are undermining democracy in the region. Chavez counters that Washington wants to overthrow him to stop his self-styled socialist revolution and control Venezuela's oil reserves.
The US Federal Aviation Authority in 1995 said Venezuelan authorities had failed to fully comply with International Civil Aviation Organization standards and rated them a category 2, which restricted Venezuelan carrier flights to United States.
Venezuela briefly canceled direct flights by US carriers in 1996 after Washington threatened to downgrade Venezuelan aviation authorities further with a full ban on local flights to the United States.
