The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States issued a warning to airlines on Friday, January 16, to remain vigilant when flying over certain regions of Mexico, Central America, and South America.
The newly released flight advisory indicated potential military activities and GPS interference risks in the local airspace. The related warning came into effect on January 16 and is expected to last for 60 days.
According to the FAA notice, the affected areas are quite extensive, covering Mexico and Central American countries, as well as Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Bogota, Guayaquil, and Mazatlan flight information regions, extending into parts of the Eastern Pacific airspace.
Prior to issuing this safety alert, the United States has been gradually increasing military deployment in the region. Apart from strengthening forces in the southern Caribbean, the U.S. had also previously arrested Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a military operation.
Additionally, President Trump suggested last week that Mexican cartels are controlling their country and hinted at the possibility of U.S. military striking ground targets to curb criminal organizations.
Following the U.S. attack on Venezuela, the FAA had restricted flights across the entire Caribbean region, leading to the cancellation of hundreds of flights by major airlines. FAA Director Bryan Bedford told Reuters this week that there was good coordination between the agency and the U.S. military before the Venezuelan operation.
However, last month, there was still an incident of an air proximity event. A JetBlue plane flying from Curacao to New York had to take evasive action about 60 kilometers off the coast of Venezuela to avoid a U.S. Air Force tanker aircraft that did not have its transponder turned on.
In response to the U.S. warning, the Mexican government promptly issued a statement. Mexico clarified that the notice was only a precautionary measure and does not restrict Mexican airspace; the advisory is only applicable to U.S. airlines and does not affect Mexican airline operations.
FAA advises pilots and airline operators to check the specific details of this flight advisory using the system code “KICZ.”