**FAA allows airlines to resume flights in the Caribbean**
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States has now permitted airlines to resume flights in the Caribbean region, after flights were previously forced to be canceled on Saturday (January 3) due to the U.S. military strikes against Venezuela.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced on social media platform X on Saturday evening, “The originally issued restrictions on the Caribbean airspace will expire at midnight Eastern Time, and flights can resume operations.”
He added, “Airlines have been notified and will promptly update their schedules. If your flight was affected by the restrictions, please continue to work with your airline to resolve it.”
Last Friday night into Saturday morning, the Trump administration carried out a major military operation in Venezuela, leading to the arrest of the country’s dictator President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Subsequently, the FAA issued flight restrictions for the Caribbean region, leading major U.S. airlines to cancel hundreds of flights.
Following the FAA’s announcement to lift the restrictions early Sunday morning, major U.S. airlines such as United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines immediately prepared to resume Caribbean routes.
In a statement, United Airlines announced plans to operate a flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico on Saturday evening and added, “We expect to operate the majority of our regular flights in the region on Sunday.”
Delta Air Lines also stated in a release that it intends to operate Caribbean flights on Sunday according to the normal schedule, but has adjusted resource allocation.
American Airlines also released a statement saying the company is preparing for the reopening of the eastern Caribbean airspace on Sunday and has added over 3,700 additional seats for round-trip flights to and from the region on top of the regular scheduled flights.
The company mentioned that in order to assist passengers affected by the FAA’s airspace closure order, American Airlines is increasing flight frequencies and deploying larger aircraft models, including wide-body planes, to “maximize capacity.”
Spirit Airlines also noted that with the lifting of the FAA’s airspace closure order, the company resumed round-trip flights in the Caribbean on January 4th.
A spokesperson for JetBlue Airways stated that the company had canceled 215 flights and announced that normal operations will resume on Sunday.