The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) allowed a sweeping Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) that had closed large portions of Caribbean airspace to expire at 00:00 ET on Sunday, January 4. The closure was imposed late Friday after U.S. military strikes in Venezuela raised concerns about stray ordnance and radar interference. During the 18-hour ban, all U.S.-registered aircraft were barred from the San Juan, Maiquetía, Piarco and Curaçao flight-information regions, forcing hundreds of diversions and cancellations at the height of the winter-holiday return rush. JetBlue alone scrubbed 215 flights; United, American, Delta, Spirit and Frontier also halted operations.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said safety conditions had “stabilised sufficiently” to lift the restriction but warned that crews should remain alert for pop-up military activity near Venezuelan airspace. The FAA kept a conflict-zone advisory for Venezuela in force, meaning dispatchers must still route aircraft at least 100 nautical miles from the country’s coastline unless they obtain a specific risk waiver.
Travelers coping with unexpected reroutings may also find themselves transiting countries not on their original itinerary. VisaHQ’s platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-states/) allows passengers and corporate travel coordinators to check entry requirements instantly and secure expedited visas for Caribbean and Latin American destinations—crucial when diversions force last-minute stopovers. The service’s real-time updates integrate smoothly with duty-of-care programs, keeping documents valid even as flight plans change overnight.
![FAA lifts Caribbean airspace ban; U.S. carriers scramble to restart service]()
For corporate mobility managers the sudden shutdown exposed a single-point vulnerability in east-coast travel corridors that funnel business-jet and long-haul traffic over the Caribbean. Companies with shuttle operations to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands reported duty-of-care challenges as travellers were stranded in airports with limited hotel capacity. Travel-risk firm WorldAware said the episode underscores the need for contingency routings outside Miami and New York ATC sectors.
Airlines now face a multi-day recovery. Aircraft and crews parked out of position must be ferried back before regular schedules stabilise; analysts expect elevated cancellation levels through mid-week, inflating re-accommodation costs during an already expensive peak season. Early estimates from Airlines for America put the direct economic hit near US$65 million, excluding passenger claims. Cargo carriers—particularly those moving medical isotopes from Puerto Rico—also reported shipment backlogs.
Longer-term, aviation lobbies say the incident will add momentum to ongoing efforts to modernise NOTAM distribution and to secure reciprocal overflight guarantees in crisis zones. The House Transportation Committee is already planning hearings on whether war-related airspace closures should trigger automatic passenger-rights obligations similar to tarmac-delay rules.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said safety conditions had “stabilised sufficiently” to lift the restriction but warned that crews should remain alert for pop-up military activity near Venezuelan airspace. The FAA kept a conflict-zone advisory for Venezuela in force, meaning dispatchers must still route aircraft at least 100 nautical miles from the country’s coastline unless they obtain a specific risk waiver.
Travelers coping with unexpected reroutings may also find themselves transiting countries not on their original itinerary. VisaHQ’s platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-states/) allows passengers and corporate travel coordinators to check entry requirements instantly and secure expedited visas for Caribbean and Latin American destinations—crucial when diversions force last-minute stopovers. The service’s real-time updates integrate smoothly with duty-of-care programs, keeping documents valid even as flight plans change overnight.
For corporate mobility managers the sudden shutdown exposed a single-point vulnerability in east-coast travel corridors that funnel business-jet and long-haul traffic over the Caribbean. Companies with shuttle operations to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands reported duty-of-care challenges as travellers were stranded in airports with limited hotel capacity. Travel-risk firm WorldAware said the episode underscores the need for contingency routings outside Miami and New York ATC sectors.
Airlines now face a multi-day recovery. Aircraft and crews parked out of position must be ferried back before regular schedules stabilise; analysts expect elevated cancellation levels through mid-week, inflating re-accommodation costs during an already expensive peak season. Early estimates from Airlines for America put the direct economic hit near US$65 million, excluding passenger claims. Cargo carriers—particularly those moving medical isotopes from Puerto Rico—also reported shipment backlogs.
Longer-term, aviation lobbies say the incident will add momentum to ongoing efforts to modernise NOTAM distribution and to secure reciprocal overflight guarantees in crisis zones. The House Transportation Committee is already planning hearings on whether war-related airspace closures should trigger automatic passenger-rights obligations similar to tarmac-delay rules.
