By Jim Wyss | Bloomberg News
U.S. military operations in Venezuela are upending travel in the Caribbean just as many vacationers are trying to get home from their winter breaks.
Vacation hot spots such as Barbados, Aruba, Puerto Rico, Antigua, Barbuda, and Trinidad and Tobago were all reporting flight cancellations or delays Saturday due to the military activity.
After months of military buildup in the southern Caribbean — purportedly to disrupt drug trafficking routes — the U.S. announced Saturday morning that it had captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife to stand trial in the U.S.
Puerto Rico’s tourism authority said the island’s airspace was closed by the Federal Aviation Administration around 2 a.m. and at least 307 flights have been canceled so far. “Total cancellations could increase,” the agency warned.
At the Luis Muñoz Marín airport in San Juan, hundreds of people were camped out around the terminal — sprawling on luggage and huddling around electrical outlets — wondering how and when they were going to get home. Some had been told that the travel restrictions might be lifted at 1 a.m. on Sunday, and so they were determined to wait.
Irene Fernandez, 45, a chemical engineer from Spain, was informed early Saturday that her 9 p.m. flight to Madrid had been canceled. The airline offered to rebook her on a flight Tuesday, meaning she’ll have to miss work.
Although she’s spending more time in Puerto Rico, “it no longer feels like a holiday,” she said.
Christmas and New Year’s are peak times to visit the Caribbean, with U.S. and European visitors flocking to warm weather and pristine beaches.
JetBlue Airways Corp. said Saturday that it had canceled about 215 flights systemwide as a result of airspace closures across the Caribbean. The carrier noted in an emailed statement that flights to the Dominican Republic and Jamaica aren’t affected by the government’s restrictions.
Customers whose flights are canceled may rebook their travel or request a refund, JetBlue said. The carrier flies to the Caribbean from a variety of U.S. cities including New York, Boston, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
American Airlines Group Inc. had canceled more than 100 flights and delayed another 400 across its whole network as of 1:54 p.m. New York time, according to FlightAware. Miami International Airport, home to many of American’s flights to the Caribbean, warned passengers about potential disruptions in a post on X.
American said that it’s “adjusting its flight schedule for the region” as a result of the FAA-mandated airspace closures.
“We recognize the disruption these restrictions have on our customers and are doing all we can to take care of them, including providing additional flexibility for customers whose travel is affected,” American said in a statement to Bloomberg News.
It’s not clear how long the restrictions will last, and the FAA didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The disruption isn’t limited to just passenger planes. Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett, who represents the Virgin Islands, said in a statement that the U.S. Postal Service informed her that no inbound or outbound Priority and Priority Express packages will arrive or be delivered Saturday due to the airspace restriction.
In Canada, flights to the Caribbean operated by Air Canada and Air Transat were operating normally. WestJet canceled flights between Toronto and Aruba for Saturday “out of an abundance of caution” and said Sunday’s flights will be assessed.
In Aruba — just a few miles off the coast of Venezuela — Amy McDonagh, 56, said she was supposed to be traveling home to New Jersey on Saturday but was informed this morning that flights had been canceled. By the time she rushed downstairs to ask to extend her hotel room, there was a line of 15 people, primarily Americans, waiting to do the same.
While being stuck in Aruba may sound nice to some people, “when there is a war going on just a 30-minute flight away, it doesn’t feel great,” McDonagh said.
Back in Puerto Rico, Shelley Schmaltz, 59, had just gotten off a weeklong Caribbean cruise in San Juan and was scheduled to fly Saturday to San Francisco. Her carrier, Delta Air Lines Inc., told her the earliest she could be rebooked is next Friday. So far, she has only managed to find lodging through Wednesday.
“We’re all just trying to figure this out,” she said, sitting on the sidewalk outside the airport. “We’ll see what we do from here.”
(With assistance from Monique Mulima.)
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