Multiple international airlines have canceled flights to Venezuela in the wake of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advising pilots to exercise caution while flying in its airspace.
Six carriers have indefinitely suspended flights, according to Marisela de Loaiza, the president of the Airlines Association in Venezuela: TAP, LATAM, Avianca, Iberia, Gol and Caribbean. Turkish Airlines, meanwhile, has suspended flights to Venezuela from Monday through Friday.
On Friday, the FAA instructed pilots to use caution while flying over Venezuela, citing the “worsening situation and heightened military in or around” the South American country.
“Threats could pose a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes, including during overlight, arrival and departure phases of flight, and/or airports and aircraft on the ground,” the advisory added.
The advisory is in place until Feb. 19.
The Trump administration has ratcheted up tensions with Venezuela, authorizing at least 21 strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific since early September. The operations have killed at least 83 people whom U.S. officials have called “narco-terrorists.”
President Trump also said earlier this month that he has “sort of made up” his mind regarding a next set of operations against Venezuela and its president, Nicolás Maduro. Administration officials have alleged that Maduro is an “illegitimate leader” who is leading Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles, which, as of Monday, is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S.
In response, Maduro has deployed thousands of troops in preparation for a land conflict with the U.S. The FAA said in a background information document that since September, there has been an increase in civilian aircrafts reporting interference in their navigation systems while flying over Venezuela.
“While Venezuela has at no point expressed an intent to target civil aviation, the Venezuelan military possesses advanced fighter aircraft and multiple weapons systems capable of reaching or exceeding civil aircraft operating altitudes, as well as potential low-altitude risk from man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) and anti-aircraft artillery,” the FAA noted.
The Associated Press contributed.