FAA warns pilots to exercise caution over Venezuela amid escalating tensions

The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday advised all pilots to "exercise caution" when operating in the airspace over Venezuela, saying a "worsening security situation and heightened military activity" posed unspecified threats that "could pose a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes." The advisory said those risks extended to aircraft taking off and landing inside Venezuela as well as to planes on the ground. The notice will remain in effect for 90 days.

The FAA action came after weeks of heightened U.S. military activity near Venezuela, including bomber flights along the coast conducted in training scenarios to simulate an attack and the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford accompanied by several destroyers. U.S. officials have assembled what was described as the largest American force in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela in generations, a show of force occurring as the Trump administration intensifies pressure on President Nicolás Maduro. The administration does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate leader, and he faces narcoterrorism charges in the United States.

Separately, U.S. forces have carried out operations against suspected drug smuggling boats in Caribbean and Pacific waters, operations that reporting cited by The Associated Press says have been linked to more than 80 deaths since early September. Those operations and the military buildup have raised concerns among civil aviation authorities about the potential for misidentification of civilian aircraft and other threats in congested airspace.

The FAA advisory is likely to prompt commercial airlines and cargo carriers to avoid Venezuelan airspace or to implement more restrictive routing and operational measures. Rerouting flights around Venezuelan airspace can increase flight times and fuel consumption, raising operating costs for carriers and potentially lifting fares or freight rates. Airlines and lessors will also reassess their exposure through insurance and war risk coverage, a market that typically responds to geopolitical escalations with higher premiums and stricter underwriting.

For Venezuela the timing compounds existing economic strains. The country’s oil production and exports have been severely constrained by years of underinvestment, sanctions, and political turmoil. New barriers to aviation and maritime movement in nearby waters could further complicate exports and imports, hamper tourism and business travel, and add friction to a fragile recovery of domestic commerce.

Policy implications extend beyond aviation safety. The FAA advisory functions as a public risk signal from a federal agency to private operators, and it reflects an alignment of civilian regulatory action with a broader geopolitical posture. Former Transportation Department inspector general Mary Schiavo observed that such notices are typically issued during military conflicts and urged that pilots treat the warning seriously even if it does not mean an attack is imminent.

The 90 day advisory underscores an immediate period of uncertainty for carriers, shippers, insurers and travelers. If tensions persist, the advisories and associated operational changes could become a lasting factor in regional logistics and in the cost structures of companies that depend on safe, predictable air and sea corridors through the Caribbean.