Several U.S. air carriers have canceled or delayed flights across the Caribbean after American forces’ operation in Venezuela on Saturday.
The cancellations were spurred by the Federal Aviation Administration’s closure of airspace in the Caribbean.
Delta Air Lines said that it “began canceling flights early Saturday morning in compliance with FAA airspace closures” and said affected customers would be contacted through the Delta app.
“We are making schedule adjustments as necessary with the safety and security of our customers and team members top of mind,” American Airlines told CNBC.
JetBlue told CNBC that 215 of its flights were canceled due to the airspace closure.
Affected destinations across the airlines include Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, Curacao, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and Trinidad and Tobago, in particular, are close to Venezuela’s Caribbean coastline.
One affected traveler, Amy McDonagh, 56, was due to fly back to New Jersey from Aruba on Saturday. She told Bloomberg that while staying extra time in Aruba may sound nice, “When there is a war going on just a 30-minute flight away, it doesn’t feel great.”
Some of the air carriers are waiving change fees and fare differences for passengers who need to rebook flights.
American Airlines said in a travel alert that it would waive the change fee for those who had bought their tickets on Friday or earlier; are scheduled to travel Saturday or Sunday; are able to travel through next Friday; are not changing their origin or destination city and rebook their changes by Sunday. The new flights have to be completed within a year of the original ticket date as well, the airline said.
JetBlue said it’s waiving change and cancellation fees as well as fare differences for customers on affected flights on Saturday and Sunday who booked their flight prior to Saturday. Customers must rebook their flights by next Saturday.
Southwest Airlines said customers whose flights are canceled could get a refund if they choose or rebook between their original destination and departure cities within two weeks of their original flight date without paying for a change in airfare.
Spirit Airlines said it would waive modification charges or fare differences for rebooked flights originally scheduled for Saturday and Sunday through Jan. 11.
On United Airlines, customers with affected flights from Sunday through Tuesday that were booked on or before Friday will have their change fees and fare differences waived. The new flights, however, must be in the same cabin type, be between the same two cities, and take place sometime between Tuesday and Jan. 13.
The U.S. military action in Venezuela resulted in the apprehension of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
They have been indicted on U.S. federal charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of a machine gun and other destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and other destructive devices.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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