International flights to Venezuela are being cancelled by a suite of airlines in response to a US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warning on Friday, 21 November, that called on all pilots to “exercise caution” when flying in the airspace over Venezuela due to threats posed by the “worsening security situation and heightened military activity.”
The Pentagon has deferred to the FAA, and the warning will remain active for 90 days. A flurry of airlines responded on Saturday, with American Airlines saying it had stopped overflying Venezuela in October, and Delta Air Lines saying it had stopped overflights “a while ago.” No comment was immediately forthcoming from United Airlines.
Going further, Brazil’s Gol, Colombia’s Avianca, Lan, TAP Air Portugal, and Iberia have announced they are all cancelling flights out of Caracas due to what the FAA called a “potentially hazardous situation.” Latam and Caribbean Airlines have also suspended Caracas routes, with Latam saying it would monitor the situation daily.
Aeronautica Civil de Colombia said it would require route information from airlines and cited “the deterioration of security conditions and increased military activity in the region,” while TAP Air Portugal told Reuters the decision to cancel was the result of “safety conditions in Venezuelan airspace” that “are not guaranteed.” Iberia said it would “assess the situation to decide when to resume flights to that country.”
Air operations at “all altitudes” could be affected, the FAA said in its advisory, adding in a statement that interference with navigation systems and military exercises has both increased in Venezuelan airspace, amid lethal shows of strength from the US armed forces. While it emphasised that “Venezuela has at no point expressed an intent to target civil aviation,” it noted that “the Venezuelan military possesses advanced fighter aircraft and multiple weapons systems capable of reaching or exceeding civil aircraft operating altitudes.”
The United States has dramatically increased pressure on Venezuela over the past 48 hours, heightening concerns that Washington may be preparing for a major military operation against President Nicolás Maduro’s government.
— Kurdistan 24 English (@K24English) November 23, 2025
An urgent aviation warning restricting civilian flights… pic.twitter.com/iLfDNMhtfE
Mary Schiavo, former Department of Transportation inspector general, said the alert level did not indicate “necessarily” that “any kind of attack is imminent” but urged pilots to heed the warning, which could mean that the US thinks Venezuela will ramp up military engagement or that anti-drug boat operations are in the offing.
Meanwhile, tensions continue to rise. On Friday, as the FAA alert was given, a sanctioned Russian oil tanker was making a U-turn on the way to Venezuela after being intercepted by a US warship near the coast. The US has deployed the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the region.
