Multiple International Airlines Cancel Venezuela Flights Following US Warning

The flight advisory will last for 90 days, the FAA said.

A departures and arrivals screen is seen at the Simon Bolivar International airport in Maiquetia, La Guaira State, Venezuela, on June 3, 2024.

Three international airlines opted to cancel flights departing from Venezuela on Nov. 22 after a warning of a “potentially hazardous situation” flying over the country’s Maiquetia region was issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) the day prior.

TAP Air Portugal, Colombia’s Avianca, and Brazil’s Gol all canceled flights departing from Caracas on Saturday, according to Simon Bolivar Maiquetia International Airport’s website and Flightradar24.

There were “potential risks” of flying in the Maiquetia area “due to the deterioration of security conditions and increased military activity in the region,” Aeronautica Civil de Colombia said in a statement.

TAP Air Portugal said it canceled flights scheduled for Nov. 22 and Nov. 25.

“This decision follows information issued by the United States aviation authorities, which indicates that safety conditions in Venezuelan airspace are not guaranteed,” the company said in a statement to Reuters.

Iberia Airlines, based out of Spain, said it would cancel flights to Caracas on Nov. 24 until further notice. The airline’s flight on Saturday, leaving Caracas for Madrid, departed as scheduled.

“The company will assess the situation to decide when to resume flights to that country,” an Iberia spokesperson told Reuters.

However, both Wingo and Copa Airlines kept their flights departing from the Maiquetia flight region on Saturday.

On Nov. 21, the FAA issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) flight advisory for Venezuela’s Maiquetia flight region.

The FAA warned all flight operators to “exercise caution” in the region “at all altitudes due to the worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela.”

The agency said these threats could pose potential risks to aircraft at all altitudes during overflight and arrival, and departure to and from airports. Aircraft on the ground are also at risk.

The flight advisory will last for 90 days, the FAA said.

US Military Buildup Near Venezuela

The warning follows the United States’ increasing its military build-up in the South Caribbean, including sending its largest aircraft carrier, at least eight other warships, and F-35 aircraft.

The U.S. Navy said in mid-November that the military buildup is aimed at dismantling criminal networks that exploit “shared borders and maritime domains.”

Since September, the U.S. military has launched at least 21 strikes against what officials describe as “narco-terrorist” drug vessels operating in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. U.S. officials have said the maritime strikes are targeting drug-running networks that traffic narcotics into the United States.

Adm. Alvin Holsey, who leads U.S. Southern Command, said the U.S. military stands ready “to combat the transnational threats that seek to destabilize [the] region.”

Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro responded by ordering a “massive deployment” of Venezuelan forces and Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López said the 200,000-strong mobilization demonstrates that Venezuela is ready to respond to any “imperialist aggression.”

The U.S. federal government’s official stance is that Maduro’s presidency is illegitimate, citing widespread evidence that his 2024 reelection was marred by fraud and manipulation. The United States has also accused Maduro’s regime of human rights abuses.

Since he retook office in January, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has ramped up pressure on Maduro, increasing sanctions and doubling the bounty on information relating to the regime leader’s arrest to $50 million.

Last month, Trump said he is considering land strikes in Venezuela to target what his administration officials describe as drug trafficking rings.

“We are certainly looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” Trump said.

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