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12h ago

FAA Lifts Caribbean Airspace Limits After Venezuela Operation as Airlines Restart Service

The overnight shutdown triggered hundreds of cancellations during peak holiday travel, with carriers rebooking customers under fee waivers.

CORRECTION / Passengers wait at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport as all flights are cancelled following US military action in Venezuela, on January 3, 2026, in Carolina, Puerto Rico. President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on the South American country. "The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country," Trump said on Truth Social. (Photo by Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP via Getty Images) / "The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [Luis Munoz Marin International Airport] instead of [José Aponte De la Torre Airport]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require."
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Passengers walk near queue barriers, after flights were delayed and cancelled when the airspace was closed due to U.S. strikes on Venezuela overnight, at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Carolina, near San Juan, Puerto Rico January 3, 2026. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo

Overview

  • U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said temporary restrictions expired at midnight Eastern, clearing flights to Puerto Rico and nearby islands to resume.
  • United and Delta restarted service to San Juan on Sunday, with other U.S. carriers updating schedules and adding flights to accommodate stranded passengers.
  • The FAA closed parts of Caribbean and Venezuelan airspace on Saturday, citing safety-of-flight risks from ongoing military activity.
  • JetBlue canceled about 215 flights and Puerto Rico’s main airport logged more than 300 cancellations, with waivers in place across more than a dozen destinations.
  • FlightRadar24 showed commercial overflights of Venezuela halted during the operation in which President Donald Trump said Nicolás Maduro was captured.