Last foreign carriers halt flights to Venezuela after Trump’s airspace ban

Copa, Wingo, Satena, and Boliviana halt Venezuela flights, citing navigation signal issues and safety concerns.

Bogota, Colombia – The last international airlines flying to Venezuela have suspended routes to the country, days after United States President Donald Trump declared the South American country’s airspace closed.

Panamanian carrier Copa and its Colombian budget subsidiary Wingo announced Wednesday evening that routes to Caracas would be suspended on December 4 and 5, while Colombian state airline Satena and Bolivian flagship carrier Boliviana de Aviacion also cancelled flights on Thursday.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3Meet the US’s drug running friends: A history of narcotics involvement
• list 2 of 3Venezuela’s Maduro confirms ‘cordial’ call with Trump amid tensions with US
• list 3 of 3Amid Trump threats, what has the US’s ‘war on drugs’ achieved in 50 years?

“Due to intermittent problems today with one of the navigation signals during its flight to Caracas… [Copa and Wingo] took the preventative decision to temporarily suspend flights to and from this city,” wrote Copa and Wingo in statements.

The companies added that the interruptions “at no time compromised operational safety”, with a spokesperson telling Al Jazeera that aircraft from both carriers had been affected by the signal problems.

On Thursday, Colombian government airline Satena suspended its route to Valencia  – Venezuela’s third-largest city – while Boliviana also cancelled its flight to Caracas. Neither has made a public statement at the time of publication.

Following the suspensions, no international carriers are flying to Venezuela, although several national airlines continue to operate international routes.

The suspensions also follow a 90-day warning issued on November 21 by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of risks to commercial planes flying in Venezuelan airspace, which prompted several major carriers to suspend flights.

The FAA cited “the worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela” amid a massive build-up of US forces in the Southern Caribbean.

‘So much uncertainty’

On Saturday, Trump unilaterally declared Venezuelan airspace “closed in its entirety”. Copa, Wingo, Satena and Boliviana were the only international carriers to continue routes to Venezuela following these warnings.

The cancellations dealt a fresh blow to members of Venezuela’s diaspora who had already faced travel disruptions to plans to return home for the holidays. Others who had already been visiting the country are now struggling to return home.

“Many people have shared their concerns over the cancellation of these flights,” said Juan Carlos Viloria Doria, vice president of Venezuelans in Barranquilla, a network of migrants in Colombia. “At this time of year in particular, people want to reunite with their family and friends for Christmas. It is unfortunate that due to the political situation, Venezuelans must live with so much uncertainty.”

The cancellations complicate travel plans, especially for those in Venezuela who may have to undertake risky overland journeys.

Viloria called on Venezuelans to plan journeys in coordination with family, friends, and migrant networks, as well as to consult official information from government sources.

Colombia’s Venezuelan migrant community of roughly 2.8 million is the largest in the world, and many are waiting with bated breath as tensions grow between Washington and Caracas.