Map Shows US Flight Warnings Amid Venezuela Military Tens...

By Amira El-Fekki‎

Middle East News Reporter

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Warnings issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to civilian pilots, along with the issuance of a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) covering Venezuelan airspace, and the suspension of several international airline flights to the country, point to a tense security situation.

The warnings, illustrated in the map below, include the Caribbean corridor near the Maiquetía Flight Information Region (SVZM FIR), which covers Venezuela.

Why It Matters

Reports of warnings about possible disruption to navigation systems and hazards to civilian flights across Venezuelan airspace show broader concerns about escalating tensions in the region as the U.S. has increased its military buildup amid an anti-drug trafficking campaign and pressure on the regime of Nicolás Maduro. Trump is weighing his options, including striking Venezuela and attempting to topple socialist Maduro.

What To Know

Since September, several civilian aircraft transiting the region experienced disruptions with their Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), some with effects that persisted well beyond the affected airspace, the FAA said Friday.

The FAA issued a separate advisory for pilots operating in or near San Juan, Puerto Rico, urging them to "exercise extreme caution" because of "heightened state aircraft activity" in the area, The Washington Post reported Saturday. Puerto Rico’s Ceiba area has served as a key location for U.S. military aircraft operations and training exercises in recent weeks.

The Venezuelan government is sounding the alarm over a growing aviation isolation, as several international carriers suspended flights to and from Caracas following the recent FAA warning. The Venezuelan aviation authority told international airlines they must resume flights to Venezuela within 48 hours, or risk losing their operational clearances, according to a Reuters report on Tuesday.

Six airlines have stopped flights to Venezuela this week, including Iberia (Spain), TAP Air Portugal, LATAM (Chile), Avianca (Colombia), GOL (Brazil), and Caribbean Airlines (Trinidad & Tobago). Turkish Airlines suspended flights from Istanbul to Caracas from November 24 to 28, according to the Daily Sabah.

U.S. airlines have been banned from flying to and from Venezuela since 2019, the same year the U.S. stopped recognizing Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate president and suspended embassy operations in the country, saying political instability, economic collapse, and corruption in Venezuela have enabled transnational criminal networks to operate freely.

Tens of thousands took to the streets in 2019 to protest Maduro’s disputed re‑election, while opposition leader Juan Guaidó declared himself interim president. Human rights organizations, including the United Nations, documented widespread political repression and a mass exodus of Venezuelans fleeing the country.

What People Are Saying

Mary Schiavo, former inspector general for the Department of Transportation, told The Associated Press Saturday on the FAA warning: "I wouldn’t take it as necessarily there’s any kind of attack is imminent because I’ve seen these issued many times before. But as a pilot myself, I’d certainly heed it."

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in notice issued on Friday: "Threats could pose a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes, including during overflight, the arrival and departure phases of flight, and/or airports and aircraft on the ground."