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US President Donald Trump has made good on his threats. Last night, a large-scale military operation was carried out by the US armed forces in Venezuela. The capital, Caracas, was bombed. On the morning of Saturday January 3, Donald Trump announced the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. The presidential couple have been kidnapped, or "exfiltrated" as Donald Trump put it, and will have to answer to the United States on charges linked to the bombing.The U.S. Attorney General, Pamela Bondi, stated in a press release that the presidential couple had been kidnapped and "exfiltrated" to the United States on "narcoterrorism" charges.
The armed intervention by the United States has had a direct impact on air traffic in the Caribbean region. Early this morning, US government authorities issued a ban on flights in Caribbean airspace to the country's air operators (i.e. all US-registered aircraft). Director of Saint-Barthélemy airport, Fabrice Danet, details the disruptions to be expected. All flights operated by Tradewind and Cape Air have been cancelled, which means that passengers will have to stay in hotels until the situation changes, or review their return logistics," he explains. On Friday, the airport recorded 329 aircraft movements for over a thousand passengers. This Saturday, some of the 305 scheduled flights will not be carried out. "We are in constant contact with the Prefecture, the Civil Aviation Authority and neighboring airports, but the impact on a weekend like this, with the management of post-festive departure flows, is quite substantial," adds Fabrice Danet.
Meanwhile, Air France has announced that this Saturday's long-haul flights from Roissy (destination Sint Maarten) and Orly (destination Pointe-à-Pitre and Fort-de-France) have been cancelled. On the other hand, according to information released mid-morning, airlines such as Air Caraïbes, Air Canada, Copa, Avianca and Air Transat have maintained their flights.
All travelers affected by the disruptions are invited to contact their airline to enquire about the situation and the solutions that may be proposed to them.
According to the latest information gathered by JSB, the flight ban imposed by Washington on US airlines in Caribbean airspace should be lifted this Saturday at midnight. In addition, transatlantic flights between France and the West Indies should be able to resume tomorrow.
For the time being, however, the US airlines transiting through Sint Maarten's Princess Juliana airport have all cancelled their flights. These include Jet Blue, Delta Airlines, American Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Spirit.
Tradewind Aviation press release
This morning, Tradewind Aviation published the following statement online:" Early this morning, the Tradewind operations team was informed that all Eastern Caribbean airspace was closed to U.S. operators. This is due to ongoing military actions in Venezuela. As a result, all flights today, January 3, to and from San Juan, PR, St Barths, Antigua, Anguilla and the BVI are cancelled. Our team is working diligently to add as many flights as possible for tomorrow and early next week to rehabilitate you and provide you with travel options. Please note that this is a very fluid situation and things are subject to change. We will update all affected guests as soon as we have updated information. "
