Even though the Federal Aviation Administration reopened Eastern Caribbean airspace following the dramatic capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces, some American tourists said they remain stranded throughout the region.
As airlines scrambled Sunday to add flights and bring people home from the Caribbean, tourists like Nydia Han said they remained stuck.
Han, an anchor and reporter for ABC Philadelphia station WPVI, said she and her family were supposed to fly from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Philadelphia on Sunday night. But now, he said, the airlines have told him he won’t be able to take a flight home until Friday.
Passengers wait at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as all flights are canceled following US military action in Venezuela, January 3, 2026.
Miguel J. Rodríguez Carrillo/AFP via Getty Images
“Unfortunately, due to Maduro’s capture and the closure of airspace, we are stuck here in Vieques,” Han said in a video she shared with ABC News.
The FAA issued a so-called Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) to airlines early Saturday prohibiting flights from entering Eastern Caribbean airspace “due to the flight safety risk associated with ongoing military activity.”
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a social media post later on Saturday that the ban on Caribbean airspace would expire at midnight Eastern time on Sunday.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is escorted by US anti-drug agents after arriving in New York City, January 3, 2026.
Obtained by ABC News
Major US airlines, including Southwest, JetBlue, United, Delta and American, canceled hundreds of flights during the airspace ban and some are scrambling to add additional flights to the region to accommodate affected customers.
Flights throughout the Caribbean, including other popular destinations such as Aruba, Bonaire Curacao, St. Martin and St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, were also canceled during the airspace ban, but some airports are returning to normal.
The flights arrived and departed from Queen Beatrix International Airport in Oranjestad, Aruba, according to FlightRadar24.
American Airlines said it will add 5,000 additional seats to its Caribbean routes and deploy a Boeing 777-300, the largest plane in its fleet, to help customers.
About 29 flights to and from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Puerto Rico were canceled on Sunday, a far cry from the 400 inbound and outbound flights canceled on Saturday.
Billy Gunther of Florida said he and his wife are newlyweds and were finishing up their stay at an Airbnb in Puerto Rico on Saturday when they received a notification that their flight had been cancelled.
Gunther told ABC affiliate WZVN in Naples, Florida, that it could be another three days before he and his wife got a flight home. Gunther said he has spoken to other tourists who are facing flight cancellations.
“There are a lot of anxious people who don’t know when they’re going to come home,” Gunther said.
