According to reports, a major international airport in Venezuela is planning to accept cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) as payment for tickets and other services.
According to regional news agency El Siglo, the Simon Bolivar International Airport is working to make bitcoin payments compliant with local industry norms. The airport, also known as Maiquetia, is located in the heart of Caracas, Venezuela’s capital.
According to Freddy Borges, the operator of the Maiquetia airport, the airport plans to take a variety of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Dash (DASH), and the Petro, Venezuela’s oil-pegged digital currency.
He added the airport’s administration would work with Venezuela’s National Superintendence of Crypto Assets and Related Activities to establish additional payment choices.
Borges stated that allowing crypto payments at the Maiquetia airport would demonstrate the company’s commitment to working toward international standards and promoting digital currency usage. Foreign tourists, especially those from Russia, would profit from the crypto payment option, according to the CEO.
“To be accessible, we must advance in these new economic and technological systems,” Borges reportedly added.
Venezuela is experimenting with a central bank digital currency (CBDC), with the country’s central bank introducing the digital Venezuelan bolivar on October 1.
The Petro is an oil-backed cryptocurrency created by the government in February 2018, unlike a CBDC, which is pegged to Venezuela’s national currency.
Several airports and airlines around the world have been researching ways to implement crypto payments and blockchain-based capabilities in recent years, boosting consumer verification services, including COVID-19 test results, and providing better options for cash payments.
After testing crypto payments in 2014, Latvian airline airBaltic began taking Ether (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE) as ticket payments in March.