Caribbean Airspace Reopens and Flights “Can Resume”

Caribbean airspace is fully open again for flights, Caribbean Journal has learned.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that the temporary restrictions expired at 12AM on Sunday morning.

“Flights can resume. Airlines are informed, and will update their schedules quickly. Please continue to work with your airline if your flight was affected by the restrictions,” Duffy said in an official statement.

The move came after the United States’ military action in Venezuela on Saturday, when several hundred flights to and from the Caribbean were canceled due to a temporary shutdown of airspace in parts of the region.

What’e Next 

A search of sample flights to airports that had seen cancellations showed a number of flights already bookable and on line for travel on Monday, Jan. 5. 

Of course, with the number of travelers looking to rebook, particularly on return travel from the Caribbean, over the next few days, there will be likely disruptions for the next week or so. 

Make sure you reach out to your particular airline for updates. 

Impact for Travelers and Airports —  A Recap

It was a massive disruption of aviation across the Caribbean on Saturday. Here are the destinations that were impacted: 

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Aruba, British Virgin Islands, Bonaire, Barbados, Curaçao, Martinique, Grenada, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, United States Virgin Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Maarten. 

In a statement, St Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport said it was “closely monitoring the evolving regional airspace situation.”  

However, a number of airports were not impacted. 

The Airports That Weren’t Affected 

That includes countries like The Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, Belize and Cancun.

For example, flights went on as planned from Miami to Nassau in The Bahamas on American Airlines on Saturday, and from Miami to Grand Cayman, among others. 

The most impacted carrier was American Airlines, with flights to 19 different cities canceled on Saturday, with other carriers seeing cancellations including Southwest, Delta, Frontier, United and Spirit. 

If You Had an Existing Reservation 

The good news? If your flight was affected, carriers are generally either allowing you to rebook with no charge or get a credit for future travel within a year. 

Most airlines are applying that for travel between now and Jan. 6; that’s a sign of when travel is likely to reactivate normally to these airports. 

Non-US Carriers

The move did not seem to impact all non-US carriers. Air Canada, for example, did not cancel flights on Saturday, although it is offering free changes to your fare if you don’t want to go ahead with your bookings. That includes 17 different airports across the Caribbean.