The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will reopen Caribbean airspace to US carriers tonight, freeing up airlines to resume service to dozens of airports in the region. The FAA issued an emergency Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) in the early hours of Saturday, January 3, as a significant US military operation took place in Caracas.

With airlines already scrapping hundreds of flights, they are now preparing to restart flights as thousands of passengers remain stranded across the Caribbean. However, while the Trump administration has indicated its main attack wave is now over, it has not ruled out making a second-wave attack if needed.

Caribbean Airspace To Reopen At Midnight

As announced by US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, the restrictions put in place early on Saturday will expire at 12:00 am Eastern Time (ET), with the FAA not planning on extending the airspace closure. The emergency NOTAM came into effect at 06:00 am on Saturday, following a major US military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

With a reported 150 US military aircraft — including jets, helicopters and drones — involved in Saturday’s operation, the airspace shutdown was implemented for safety reasons. A handful of near-miss incidents in preceding weeks have heightened fears of another midair collision tragedy, less than a year after an American Eagle flight collided with a US Army helicopter on approach to Reagan National Airport (DCA).

Secretary Duffy said on his X account,

« The original restrictions around the Caribbean airspace are expiring at 12:00 am ET and 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. »

Airlines Ready To Return

Following the FAA’s sudden airspace closure order, airlines began canceling flights to the region, leaving thousands of passengers in the lurch. Although airlines issue special travel waivers in such situations, travelers have found themselves stuck overnight in a foreign country with no clear timeline for a return. US airlines are now poised to resume their Caribbean networks as normal once the FAA’s order expires, particularly JetBlue and Delta Air Lines, which were the two worst-impacted airlines.

Given its strong presence in the region, JetBlue canceled over 200 flights on Saturday, while Delta scrapped over 100 services. JetBlue said in a statement that it plans to « resume normal operations » on Sunday, January 4, and will also add additional flights to select routes when possible. The airline’s operations at 15 Caribbean airports were impacted, while American Airlines had a total of 19 destinations in the region affected by the airspace shutdown.

Delta said it plans to operate its normal Caribbean schedule on Sunday, although it mentioned « possible schedule adjustments as airline resources are repositioned. » United Airlines also anticipates operating a regular schedule on Sunday, along with ramping up frequencies on routes where needed.

Thousands Stuck In Caribbean Airports

Occurring over the post-New Year weekend, Saturday was a busy day for air travel in most parts of the world, including the Caribbean. The region is also very popular at this time of year, when many face bitter winter conditions at home. As a result, thousands of passengers have been left stranded at airports, while many who planned on traveling to the region from the US will have been left disappointed.

By far the worst-affected airport was Puerto Rico’s San Juan Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU), which recorded around 400 inbound and outbound flight cancellations on Saturday, according to FlightAware data. Other badly impacted airports include Cyril E. King Airport (STT) and Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) in Aruba, both of which saw around 100 flight cancellations each.

In the US, Miami International Airport (MIA) saw the most cancellations, with over 100 inbound and outbound services canceled on Saturday. The Florida-based airport is the busiest US hub for Caribbean flights and saw massive disruption on Saturday, also recording over 400 flight delays.