The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a flight warning over Venezuela due to a “potential risk situation.” Meanwhile, uncertainty continues regarding the Trump administration’s next steps toward the country, following the deployment of the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford to Washington’s large naval presence near Venezuelan territorial waters in what the United States calls Operation Southern Spear against drug trafficking. Iberia, Avianca, TAP, and Gol have announced the cancellation of their flights to Caracas this Saturday.
The FAA stops short of banning flights, but recommends airlines “exercise extreme caution” due to a “deteriorating security situation and increased military activity in or around Venezuela.” “These threats could pose a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes, including during takeoff and landing,” as well as to airports and aircraft on the ground.
The US advisory, which will remain in effect until February 19, does require airlines to notify the regulatory body 72 hours in advance if any of their aircraft plan to enter Venezuelan airspace, and in that case provide specific details.
Flight cancellations to and from Caracas have begun in Venezuela. Airlines such as Iberia, Avianca, TAP, and Gol have canceled their Saturday schedules, although other flights continue to operate. The Venezuelan Airline Association reported that “international commercial flights could be affected by activities unrelated to civil aviation taking place in Venezuelan airspace (Maiquetía),” following a warning issued by the United States.
In a statement, they urged passengers with tickets to or from Venezuela, whose flights are scheduled for the coming days or weeks, to remain attentive to any announcements from the airlines. “We are monitoring the situation closely for any new information that may arise and ask for the patience and understanding of our passengers.” The Venezuelan National Institute of Civil Aeronautics has not yet released any information regarding the measures taken in response to the U.S. warning.
US airlines have not operated direct flights to Venezuela since 2019, but some continued to fly over the Caribbean nation's airspace en route to other countries in the Americas. American Airlines has indicated that it stopped crossing Venezuelan territory last month. Another major US carrier, Delta Airlines, stated that it has been avoiding these overflights"for some time." United Airlines has not yet commented.
The U.S. aviation authority explains that since September, an increase in interference has been detected in Venezuela affecting the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which aircraft use to navigate their routes. This interference, the FAA points out, can have lasting effects on a flight. The regulatory body also cites as a risk factor the “activity associated with increasing military preparations in Venezuela,” which has completed “multiple military exercises and ordered the mass mobilization of thousands of soldiers and reserve forces.”
The FAA statement fuels nervousness in the region, where US forces are conducting a campaign that the United States describes as a counter-narcotics operation and which has sunk at least 20 suspected drug boats in international waters in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. These extrajudicial military strikes, which many experts, lawmakers, and human rights advocates denounce as illegal, have killed more than 80 people.
In Colombia, the national civil aviation authority has assured that both the agency and the airlines are adjusting routes and procedures"to ensure all flights remain safe." Among other measures, commercial airlines are instructed to provide"when they deem it necessary, at least 72 hours in advance, specific details about information that may affect the operation of planned flights" and to immediately report any incident or risk experienced in the area included in the FAA advisory.
Although Washington maintains that the objective of its Operation Southern Spear is to combat drug trafficking, others suspect, including Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro himself, that it is an initiative to force the Chavista leader from power, either through psychological pressure or direct action. In particular, the arrival last week of the USS Ford, the world's largest and most modern aircraft carrier, has fueled speculation that Trump, who has already authorized the CIA to conduct covert missions on Venezuelan soil, could order some kind of action within the Caribbean nation.
In February, the State Department added several drug cartels—including the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua—to its list of international terrorist organizations. Washington argues that it is at war with these groups and that their members are enemy combatants, justifying its campaign against alleged drug-running boats. Last week, it also added the Cartel of the Suns to the list, an organization it accuses Maduro of leading as the head of drug trafficking in Venezuela. The additions will take effect this Monday.
