Airlines cancel hundreds of Caribbean flights after U.S. attacks on Venezuela
Passengers sleep on the ground at Rafael Hernandez International Airport in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, after flights were delayed and canceled when airspace was closed due to overnight U.S. attacks on Venezuela.
REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo
Airlines canceled hundreds of flights to Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean on Saturday, stranding thousands of passengers at the end of the New Year’s holiday period after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered commercial airliners to avoid airspace in parts of the region following the U.S. attack on Venezuela.
President Donald Trump said Saturday that the attacks resulted in the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
According to FlightAware, the cancellations included 357 flights to and from Puerto Rico’s Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport; this accounted for more than 50% of the daily schedule. Another 89 flights to Aruba’s Queen Beatrix International Airport were canceled on Saturday, more than half of Saturday’s flights.
Including airlines affected by flight restrictions American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Southwest Airlines And JetBlue Airlines, United Airlines, and Frontier Airlines. Carriers have waived change fees and fare differences if customers affected by the airspace closure change their flights to later in the month. Airlines included more than a dozen airports in the region in their waivers.
JetBlue, which has a major operation in the Caribbean, said it canceled approximately 215 flights “due to the closure of airspace in the Caribbean due to military activities.” The airline noted that flights to the Dominican Republic and Jamaica are not affected by government restrictions
American Airlines said it was “aware of the midnight airspace closures in the Eastern Caribbean and is closely monitoring the situation with the FAA.”
“We are making schedule adjustments as necessary, keeping the safety and security of our customers and team members at the forefront,” the carrier said in a statement.
Dutch airline KLM also warned passengers about disruptions due to airspace restrictions that could potentially affect flights to Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and others.
Passengers stand near screens displaying flight information at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Carolina near San Juan, Puerto Rico, after flights were delayed and canceled due to airspace closures due to the US overnight attack on Venezuela.
REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo
While such broad restrictions are usually temporary, some flight crews have also been stranded, so airlines may need extra time to reposition staff once flight bans are lifted.
Major US airlines have not provided direct service to Venezuela for years. American was the last of the major US carriers to stop flying to the country in 2019 amid unrest in the country.
Airspace closures due to military activity and other security concerns have for years forced airlines to use longer routes to avoid restricted airspace or pause service altogether, including to Russia, Ukraine, Israel and Iran in recent years.
