Venezuela’s International Airport To Accept Bitcoin Payments From Air Travellers In The Near Future
A major international airport in Venezuela plans to accept cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) as payment for tickets and other services in the near future.
On October 10, the regional news source El Siglo reported that the Simón Bolvar International Airport is attempting to make cryptocurrency payments suitable to local industry standards. Also known as the Maiquetia International Airport, it is located in the centre of Caracas city, Venezuela.
https://twitter.com/BTC_Archive/status/1447892970766753798
The airport’s director, Freddy Borges said that the airport plans to accept a number of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Dash, and Venezuela’s oil-pegged digital currency, the Petro.
He said that the airport’s administration would adopt new payment options as a consequence of their cooperation with Venezuela’s National Superintendence of Crypto Assets and Related Activities.
Supporting Digital Economy As Primary Objective
According to Borges, accepting cryptocurrency payments at the Maiquetia Airport would show the company’s commitment to meeting international standards and encouraging the usage of digital currencies.
Borges also stated that in order to be digitally accessible in financial terms, “we must advance in these new economic and technological systems.”
The news comes as Venezuela is experimenting with a central bank digital currency (CBDC), with the country’s central bank issuing the digital Venezuelan bolivar on October 1 as part of the experiment.
https://twitter.com/EmjaeSamala/status/1443747341568286721
While a CBDC is linked to the national currency, the Petro is an oil-backed cryptocurrency launched by the Venezuelan government in February 2018.
More than 80 million Petros are already available for purchase by various fiat currencies and top cryptocurrencies, however, Venezuelan Bolivars are not among the currencies available for purchase.
According to Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Trade and International Investment José Vielma Mora, through the initiative, the government aims to attract foreign businessmen from Poland, Denmark, and Norway in order to avoid US and EU sanctions and promote more foreign direct investment into Venezuela.
Using Cryptocurrency As Payment Mode For Air Travellers
In recent years, several airports and airlines around the world have been investigating ways to introduce cryptocurrency payments and blockchain-based functionalities, with the goal of providing better options for cash payments.
When airBaltic started accepting Dogecoin and ETH payments for tickets in March 2021, it was the world’s first airline to do so.
Other commonly recognised digital currencies by the airlines include Bitcoin Cash and four US dollar-pegged stablecoins, including USD Coin, Binance USD, Gemini Dollar, and Paxos Standard.
The airline had already started taking Bitcoin payments back in July 2014. Since then, The Latvian national carrier has been heralded as the world’s first airline to accept Bitcoin payments.
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