Venezuela Flight Suspensions After FAA Airspace Warning

Published on Nov 24, 2025, 3:23 pm CST

9 min read

Key points

Venezuela flight suspensions FAA warning now include indefinite halts by TAP, LATAM, Avianca, Iberia, GOL, and Caribbean plus a short pause by Turkish Airlines
The FAA security advisory for Venezuelan airspace runs from November 21, 2025 to February 19, 2026 and cites worsening security, heightened military activity, and GNSS interference
A skeleton network via carriers like Copa, Air Europa, Plus Ultra, Laser, Conviasa, Estelar, and Wingo still links Caracas to a few regional and European hubs but with higher disruption risk
U.S. airlines remain barred from serving Venezuela directly, and the country is under a Level 4 Do Not Travel advisory that urges U.S. citizens to leave as soon as it is safe
Nonessential trips should be postponed where possible, while essential travelers need flexible tickets, long connection buffers, and backup plans in case more airlines suspend service

Impact

Where Impacts Are Most Likely: Expect the most acute disruption on long haul links into Simón Bolívar International Airport from Europe and major Latin American hubs where multiple carriers have suspended flights
Best Times To Fly: When travel cannot be postponed, look for daytime departures with buffer time at hubs and avoid last flights of the day into or out of Caracas in case of last minute cancellations
Connections And Misconnect Risk: Assume missed connections are likely when changing in Panama City, Madrid, Bogotá, São Paulo, or island hubs and protect yourself with through tickets, long layovers, and overnight options
What Travelers Should Do Now: Postpone nonessential trips into Venezuela where possible, contact airlines about refunds or rebooking on still operating carriers, and line up contingency routings or exit plans before travel
Health And Safety Factors: Weigh any remaining flight options against the Level 4 Do Not Travel advisory, limited consular support, and elevated airspace security risks before deciding whether to enter or remain in Venezuela

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Venezuela flight suspensions FAA warning have now tipped into a longer and broader squeeze on air links for travelers using Caracas, because more international airlines are canceling or clarifying pauses in service after the Federal Aviation Administration advisory about a potentially hazardous situation in Venezuelan airspace on November 21, 2025. The impact falls hardest on passengers who relied on European and regional Latin American hubs, where some of the last remaining non Venezuelan services are now suspended indefinitely or for a defined blackout window. Anyone who keeps travel plans in place needs to assume fewer routing options, higher misconnect risk, and the possibility of becoming stranded for days if another carrier pulls out.

In practical terms, the FAA advisory for the Maiquetia flight information region warns that worsening security conditions, heightened military activity, and increased interference with satellite navigation systems could pose a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes, including while they are taxiing, departing, landing, or parked on the ground, and it runs from November 21, 2025 through February 19, 2026. That longer 90 day window, combined with airlines extending or formalizing suspensions, means travelers should treat the squeeze as a medium term structural problem rather than a one or two day blip around a single weekend.

What Changed After The Initial Warning

The initial story was that a handful of airlines canceled flights mainly over the first weekend after the FAA notice, while others watched and continued to fly. New reporting from the Venezuelan airline association and international outlets makes clear that at least six carriers, TAP Air Portugal, LATAM, Avianca, Iberia, GOL, and Caribbean Airlines, have now suspended their Venezuela services indefinitely rather than on a short rolling basis. Turkish Airlines has joined them with a temporary cutoff on its Caracas services from November 24 through November 28, including its Istanbul to Caracas routes with a Havana tag.

At the same time, the FAA has confirmed publicly that its security notice is a 90 day advisory, not a brief holding action, and that it reflects both increased military activity and a measurable spike in global navigation satellite system, GNSS, interference in and around Venezuelan airspace. That combination, a longer dated advisory plus clearer airline decisions, is what pushes this update beyond the earlier headline and makes Venezuela feel closer to a semi isolated market for mainstream international carriers.

Which Airlines Have Suspended Service

Taken together, recent statements and schedule data point to a cluster of airlines that have stopped flying to Caracas altogether for now. Iberia has said it will suspend flights from Caracas to Madrid until further notice, and is monitoring the situation before deciding when to resume. TAP Air Portugal has canceled multiple rotations through Caracas in response to the FAA warning about unsafe conditions in local airspace.

Regional players LATAM Airlines, Avianca, and GOL have likewise halted routes from their hubs to Venezuela, with trade and industry reporting describing these as suspensions rather than single flight cancellations. Caribbean Airlines, which had served Venezuelan points from Trinidad and Tobago, is also on the list of carriers that local industry sources say have suspended service indefinitely.

On top of those longer suspensions, Turkish Airlines has announced a specific blackout from November 24 through November 28 on its Caracas flights, citing the FAA advisory and regional security conditions, although future operations after that date will depend on ongoing risk assessments. The net result is a sudden loss of capacity on some of the most important long haul links into Simón Bolívar International Airport (CCS), especially connections through Madrid, Lisbon, Bogotá, São Paulo, and Istanbul.

What Routes And Hubs Still Work

Despite the headlines, Venezuela is not completely cut off from the outside world. A skeleton network of regional and national carriers still serves Caracas and a few other cities. Copa Airlines, Air Europa, and Plus Ultra have continued flights to Caracas in the days since the FAA warning, and regional low cost carrier Wingo has also kept operating some services. Venezuelan airlines such as Conviasa, Laser Airlines, Estelar, and other local operators continue to fly select international and domestic routes, although schedules are thin and subject to change.

For travelers, this means that in theory it is still possible to build itineraries into or out of Venezuela via hubs like Panama City, Madrid, and some Caribbean or Latin American gateways. In practice, those routings now rest on fewer airlines with less redundancy, which raises the stakes if a single flight cancels or a carrier reverses its position and suspends operations. Because U.S. airlines have been barred from operating direct services to Venezuela since 2019, the new advisory mostly affects their overflight patterns, not point to point routes, and those overflights are already being reduced by some carriers.

Anyone who decides to rely on the remaining network should treat schedules as provisional, watch for rolling updates from the operating carrier, and avoid separate tickets that strand them at intermediate hubs if a Caracas segment is canceled with little notice.

Background: How The FAA Advisory Works

The FAA notice to air missions, or NOTAM, for Venezuela is a security advisory that applies to the Maiquetia flight information region, which covers all of Venezuelan territory and a large swath of adjacent Caribbean airspace. It warns that threats tied to heightened military activity and a worsening security environment could pose risks to civil aircraft at all altitudes, during overflight, arrival and departure phases, and even while aircraft are on the ground, and it requires U.S. operators who still transit the region to give 72 hours advance notice to the FAA.

Unlike a full prohibition, this advisory does not automatically ban non U.S. airlines from flying to or over Venezuela, and many decisions to suspend service are ultimately made by each airline's own safety and risk management teams. However, the GNSS interference and military buildup that prompted the FAA advice are not carrier specific and can affect any aircraft that transits the region, which is why some non U.S. operators are reacting even though the underlying order does not directly regulate them.

Security And Advisory Context

Well before this airspace alert, U.S. authorities already treated Venezuela as a high risk destination. The U.S. State Department's travel advisory for Venezuela is at Level 4, Do Not Travel, and explicitly urges U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who are already in the country to leave as soon as it is safe, citing wrongful detention, kidnapping, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, and severe strains on basic services. The U.S. embassy in Caracas remains closed, and consular services are effectively unavailable.

On the aviation side, direct U.S. carrier passenger and cargo services between the United States and Venezuela were suspended in 2019 under a separate Transportation Department order, meaning that U.S. travelers have for years relied on third country hubs and non U.S. airlines to reach Caracas. The new FAA advisory sits on top of that baseline and interacts with a wider regional military buildup, including a U.S. carrier strike group and other naval assets, which further complicates the risk picture.

For non U.S. travelers, these advisories may not formally block travel but they are strong signals that the risk profile is higher than normal, both in the air and on the ground. Insurance policies, employer travel policies, and tour operators may treat a combination of Level 4 advisories and a security NOTAM as grounds to cancel or reroute trips without penalty.

Practical Strategies For Travelers

For purely discretionary or leisure travel, the most conservative and frankly the most realistic advice is to postpone or cancel plans to enter Venezuela until conditions stabilize and both the airspace advisory and some of the Level 4 language have been reassessed. Even if a theoretical route exists via a remaining carrier, the chances of late schedule changes, extended disruptions, or limited consular help if something goes wrong are all higher than normal.

Travel that cannot be postponed, such as essential business, family, or humanitarian trips, demands a very deliberate routing and risk management plan. That starts with choosing airlines that are still operating regularly scheduled flights to Simón Bolívar International Airport, booking through tickets all the way to the final destination so that missed connections are covered on a single itinerary, and building in long connection times at hubs like Panama City or Madrid so that a modest delay does not cascade into an overnight stranding.

Travelers should make sure that they can be rebooked on alternative services if their carrier suspends operations while they are already in Venezuela, including checking whether tickets are refundable in cash instead of vouchers if the airline withdraws entirely. It is also wise to avoid the last daily flight into or out of Caracas, to keep at least one later option for the same day where the schedule allows, and to maintain up to date contact details in airline profiles so that schedule change notices arrive quickly.

Finally, anyone who does decide to fly into or out of Venezuela in the coming weeks should register with their home government's traveler enrollment program where one exists, carry both printed and digital copies of tickets and travel documents, and assume that local infrastructure, from fuel supply to medical care, may be strained. Specific security precautions on the ground, such as pre arranged airport transfers and avoiding border regions with Colombia, Brazil, and Guyana, should follow existing national travel advisory guidance, not just airline status pages.