Many US tourists and locals are finding themselves stranded in the Caribbean as the airspace is closed following the Nicolás Maduro capture in Venezuela.
Normally, a vacation in the Caribbean is great at this time of year, especially when it’s icy back home. However, many passengers are finding themselves stranded at airports across the Caribbean as the airspace closes due to Trump’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
Hundreds of flights were reportedly cancelled on Saturday after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued restrictions following the attack. However, in an effort to improve the situation, airlines are adding more flights to take passengers out of the Caribbean.
However, despite the FAA reopening the airspace in the Eastern Caribbean, some American tourists are finding themselves still stranded across the region. One of these is Nydia Han, an anchor and reporter for ABC Philadelphia station WPVI. She told the New York Times that she and her family were booked to fly from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Philadelphia Saturday night. However, she has now been told by the airline that she cannot fly home until Friday.
“Unfortunately, because of Maduro’s capture and airspace being closed, we are stuck here in Vieques,” Han said in a video she shared with ABC News.
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Meanwhile, early Saturday, the FAA issued a so-called notice to airmen (NOTAM) to airlines banning flights from entering the Eastern Caribbean airspace “due to safety-of-flight risk associated with ongoing military activity.”
In a social media post later on Saturday, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Caribbean airspace ban would expire at midnight Eastern time on Sunday.
Major US air carriers, including American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest and United, cancelled hundreds of flights during the airspace ban. Meanwhile some are scrambling to add extra flights to the Caribbean to accommodate affected passengers.
American Airlines had added 7,000 more seats with 43 additional flights and on Monday, for the first time in more than a decade, the airline will operate inter-island flights in the Eastern Caribbean. This will offer two flights connecting Anguilla Wallblake, Anguilla (AXA) and Beef Island, BVI (EIS) to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
According to Delta, they have added 2,600 seats on extra flights Monday, while the airline says it is working to accommodate all passengers by Tuesday. Despite this, Delta added that delays could still occur in the Caribbean on Monday due to the increased airline capacity. The airline recommended that passengers with confirmed and rebooked tickets on Monday arrive three hours early to allow for overcrowded airports. However, those without confirmed tickets should avoid going to the airport until they have been rebooked.
Throughout the Caribbean, including other popular locations such as Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St. Martin and St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands flights were also cancelled during the airspace ban. However, some airports are reportedly getting back to normal. According to FlightRadar24, flights were arriving and departing from the Queen Beatrix International Airport in Oranjestad, Aruba.
Meanwhile, 29 flights in and out of Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Puerto Rico were cancelled Sunday, which is an improvement on the 400 inbound and outbound flights cancelled on Saturday.
