U.S. airlines Continental, Delta and American will still be able to fly to Venezuela after an agreement was reached last week postponing that country's proposed ban.

U.S. ambassador William Brownfield said Thursday that officials from both countries agreed to allow Venezuelan officials to work with the Federal Aviation Administration to bring safety standards in line with U.S. requirements that would allow more flights from Venezuela to the U.S., thus avoiding the retaliatory ban that had been set for March 30.

Venezuela had threatened to ban U.S. airlines after more than ten years of restrictions imposed on Venezuelan airlines Aeropostal and Santa Barbara. The FAA classified Venezuela in 1995 as a category 2 country, banning its airlines from using their own aircraft. Venezuelan airlines could only enter the United States with planes rented from U.S. companies or from other airlines in category 1 countries. The FAA alleged that Venezuela did not meet international safety standards.

Venezuela invited U.S. officials two years ago to inspect their airlines to see that safety violations have been corrected.

Aeropostal makes four "wet-leased" flights a day to Miami. American makes five daily flights from Miami to Venezuela, one from Puerto Rico, five flights a week from Dallas and two a week from New York. Delta flies once a day from Atlanta to Caracas. Continental flies daily from Houston and once weekly from Newark. Venezuela is has not been permitted to add flights since 1995.