Airports across the Caribbean are facing significant flight cancellations this weekend after US military action in Venezuela disrupted air travel.

In a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), the US Federal Aviation Administration ordered carriers to suspend flights to several Caribbean destinations near Venezuela, resulting in hundreds of cancellations on Saturday. The restriction was lifted at midnight, with services allowed to resume on Sunday.

This came as the White House launched a “large-scale strike” against Venezuela, ultimately resulting in the capture of country’s President Nicolás Maduro. In a news conference, the United States said it would “run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition”.

Which airports and airlines were most affected?

In its NOTAM, the FAA said that the ban on flying to the region was “due to safety-of-flight risks associated with ongoing military activity.”

According to information from Flightaware, flights to San Juan, St. Thomas, Aruba and St. Maarten were severely impacted with both heavy delays and cancellations. Services to Curaçao, located north of Venezuela (and neighbouring Aruba), were also disrupted.

The below table shows disruption by airline for the companies that operate to the Caribbean from the United States. Not all of the cancelled flights are a result of the situation in Venezuela.

Disruption by airline to/from the United States on 3 January 2026

Source: FlightAware

JetBlue and American Airlines in particular were impacted. Both carriers decided to waive change and cancel fees for flights to the region for travel this weekend.

European and South American carriers also cancelled flights

KLM, which is also facing heavy cancellations as a result of poor weather conditions in the Netherlands, saw its flights to the Caribbean disrupted as well. It cancelled five flights on Saturday that operate to the region, affected a total of 2,600 passengers.

KLM cancelled flights on 3 January 2026

The carrier said that it will resume service on 4 January as normal, and hopes to rebook affected customers on the next available flight. It added that it was “closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela, with the safety of our passengers and employees being our top priority.”

LATAM Airlines also suspended its flights from Bogotá to Aruba and Curaçao on both Saturday and Sunday.

Airlines gradually pulled out of Venezuela last year

International airlines had already pulled out of flights to Venezuela over the last few months as the security situation worsened. US action escalated from October last year, with strikes on vessels in the region that were allegedly carrying drugs.

In mid-November, as the US weighed direct military action in the country, airlines such as TAP Air Portugal and Gol Linhas Aéreas introduced technical stopovers to avoid crews staying in the country overnight.

The FAA issued a NOTAM roughly a week later, warning airlines of a “potentially hazardous situation.” International carriers subsequently suspended flights to Venezuela. At the end of the month, Venezuela ordered carriers to resume their flights or face consequences. It ultimately revoked traffic rights for six airlines.

No US carrier currently flies to Venezuela. American Airlines was the most recent operator, ending service in 2019.

Featured image: JetBlue

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