ST. CROIX — Several flights scheduled to depart the territory today from the airports on St. Croix and St. Thomas were canceled in response to air safety considerations related to military activity in Venezuela, the Virgin Islands Port Authority announced.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a security order temporarily restricting airspace over Puerto Rico to U.S.-based air carriers and aircraft in response to the military activity, according to a VIPA news release.
As a result, flights to and from the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix and Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas are suspended or could be canceled although the airports remain open. However, foreign airlines and military aircraft are not subject to this restriction, per FAA authorizations.
“The airspace in the territory have been closed down,” Port Authority Director Carlton Dowe said.
The FAA issued its security order after the U.S. military conducted an operation late Friday night and early this morning in Caracas, Venezuela to capture President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, both of whom were indicted by the United States in the Southern District of New York in 2020 on charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy.
“It was a force against a heavily fortified military fortress in the heart of Caracas to bring outlaw dictator Nicolás Maduro to justice,” Trump said during a news conference held today from Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, stressing that no American service members were killed during the operation.
Trump, who stressed that Maduro is not the legitimate president of Venezuela, noted the indictment alleges Maduro was the kingpin of a vast criminal network responsible for trafficking colossal amounts of deadly and illicit drugs into the United States. He said the U.S. government would run Venezuela until a suitable transition happens.
“We’re going to be running it with a group, and we’re going to make sure it’s run properly,” he said in response to a reporter’s question. “We’re going to rebuild the oil infrastructure, which will cost billions of dollars. It will be paid for by the oil companies directly. They will be reimbursed for what they’re doing, but it’s going to get paid, and we’re going to get the oil flowing the way it should be.”
At 10:46 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, Trump ordered the U.S. military to move forward with Operation Absolute Resolve, resulting in more than 150 aircraft to launch from 20 different bases on land and sea across the Western Hemisphere, Dan “Razin” Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during the news conference.
Now that the FAA has issued a security order temporarily restricting airspace due to the military activity, travelers to and from the Virgin Islands have been affected.
Tara Willetts was unable to board an American Airlines flight on St. Croix to get back to her home in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“We got a canceled notification this morning, and we just heard that we can’t get out until January 11,” she said after speaking to an AA representative in the airport. “We’re going to call American directly and see if we can figure out another route.”
Willetts, while discussing the effects of her canceled flight, noted an impact on work and school.
“Our dogs are in a kennel,” she said.
Dowe urged affected travelers to immediately call their airlines to rebook their flights. At this point, he said the flights are grounded for at least 24 hours.
“This thing is very fluid, though, but all indication is that by sometime tomorrow we should see some movement back and forth at the airports again,” he said.
Lauren McQueen, who was scheduled to fly out of St. Croix today on a Delta flight to her home in Atlanta to return to work Monday after visiting the island, said she received a text from Delta that her flight got canceled due to the FAA restrictions. After arriving at the airport, she said she was unable to find out any answers.
“I got to go to work Monday, so with them not knowing when the airspace is going to open back up, I don’t know what to tell my boss,” McQueen said, adding she would have to find a place to stay for the night. “Hopefully airspace opens back tomorrow so we can hop a flight and get home.”
Kelly Luthringshausen, who was vacationing on St. Croix, attempted to board a morning Cape Air flight to Tortola but it got canceled. He was waiting at the airport to see if any other flights would be available, adding that he was able to return to his vacation rental.
“We’ll stay there another night and just wait, see what happens,” he said.
Luthringshausen was among travelers who waited at the airport today to receive updates from the airlines as the situation unfolded.
Governor Albert Bryan Jr. said it is unfortunate the flights got grounded at this time of year when so many are home in the Virgin Islands for the holidays.
“It’s going to be certainly an inconvenience, but I don’t think too many people who are here vacationing are going to be complaining about having an extra day in the Virgin Islands,” he said. “What I really worry about is everybody leaving for Festival tomorrow and Monday and Tuesday, and that’s going to back up things for quite a while, but I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of this and get people out to where they need to be.”
Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement that the safety and security of Virgin Islanders and all Americans remain her top priority.
“Given the U.S. Virgin Islands’ proximity to Venezuela and our position in the Caribbean, I will make sure to keep Virgin Islanders informed,” Plaskett said in a statement. “As a member of the Intelligence Committee, I will await any briefing to committee members from the administration and share what information I am able to give to the public.”
Additionally, Plaskett noted that her office spoke with a regional representative from the U.S. Postal Service to learn all priority and priority express packages inbound and outbound will not arrive or be delivered today due to the airspace restriction. Plaskett noted that the U.S. Postal Service assured her office that it will work diligently to rectify the interruption once the airspace reopens.
“My office will continue to monitor this developing situation closely and provide updates to constituents as more information becomes available,” Plaskett stated.
VIPA remains in constant communication with FAA authorities and its airline partners and will continue to inform the public of any official updates. Further updates will be shared as they become available and posted on VIPA’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/usviports and its website at www.viport.com.
