US military operation in Venezuela disrupts Caribbean holiday travel, hundreds of flights cancelled
Washington (AP): The US military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and flew him out of the country early Saturday also disrupted Caribbean travel at a busy travel time for the region.
No airline flights were crossing over Venezuela that day, according to FlightRadar24.com. And major airlines cancelled hundreds of flights across the eastern Caribbean region and warned passengers that disruptions could continue for days after the Federal Aviation Administration imposed restrictions.
Flights were cancelled to and from Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Aruba and more than a dozen other destinations in the Lesser Antilles island group north of Venezuela. Airlines waived change fees for passengers who had to reschedule flights.
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But US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Saturday night that the restrictions would end at midnight EST and airlines would be able to resume normal operations Sunday.
Southwest Airlines said in a statement that it added six extra round-trip flights to Puerto Rico on Sunday's schedule and another eight round-trips on Monday to help get travellers home from their vacations. It also added two additional Sunday flights to Aruba.
At the Queen Beatrix airport in Aruba, a popular holiday destination for US vacationers just 15 miles (24 kilometres) off Venezuela's coast, officials said they expected a return to normal Sunday after a day of cancelled flights that stranded travellers or blocked them from flying to the island.
In Barbados, Prime Minister Mia Mottley said at a news conference that “the consequences of the conflict have been exceedingly disruptive to both of our ports of entry,” an airport as well as a seaport from which cruise ships sail.
In Puerto Rico, Lou Levine, his wife and their three children were due to return to the Washington, DC, area Saturday morning, but he woke up to his wife saying their flight was cancelled. He found out why when he checked his phone.
They first tried calling JetBlue to reschedule. The airline called back about two hours later, but the agent was not able to help them. Levine and his wife saw others messaging JetBlue on social media and did the same. The airline responded and booked them on a flight Saturday, turning their weeklong New Year's holiday into a two-week sojourn.
Levine, a manager at a software company, said he is fortunate to have a flexible and understanding employer. But his daughter will be missing a week of high school. And then there are the unexpected expenses.
“I love it here. But we have dog-sitting and cat-sitting and car rental. It's fine. It's just really painful on the wallet,” Levine said.
The Levines hoped to book an earlier trip back if possible.
This weekend was already past the peak 13-day holiday period when AAA projected that 122.4 million Americans would travel at least 50 miles (80 kilometres) from home, but there were plenty of travellers still trying to squeeze in some more time on tropical beaches before heading back to colder temperatures.
“The Caribbean is a top destination this time of the year,” AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said. “We do have a lot of people who are trying to get back home this weekend ahead of work and school on Monday.”
Diaz said “it's understandable we want to unplug,” but travellers should keep track of what's going on and allow airlines to send them phone alerts.
An announcement by Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, that was posted on the social platform X said restrictions were put in place because of the “security situation related to military activity” in Venezuela.
As a result, nearly 60 per cent of all flights to and from that airport were canceled Saturday, according to FlightAware.com.
Foreign airlines and military aircraft were not included in the restriction, the statement said. Air Canada said its flights to the Caribbean were operating normally, though it gave travellers an option to rebook. Another Canadian airline, WestJet, said it cancelled Aruba flights “out of an abundance of caution.”
All major US airlines cancelled flights across the Eastern Caribbean Saturday because of the restrictions and adjusted their schedules.
Nearly two dozen island destinations were affected by the cancellations, including Anguilla, Antigua, Curacao, St. Lucia and the US and British Virgin Islands. But destinations farther to the west like the Dominican Republic and Jamaica were generally not affected.
New York-based JetBlue said it cancelled about 215 flights “due to airspace closures across the Caribbean related to military activity.”
Dutch airline KLM said it too cancelled flights affecting thousands of passengers but planned to resume service Sunday to and from Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire and other islands.
The flight disruptions also affected some travellers booked for Caribbean cruises. Cruise operator Virgin Voyages said airline travellers unable to make it to San Juan in time for an upcoming cruise departure would be able to get a full credit for a future trip.
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HAMMER Missiles & H-125 Helicopters: India-France Build Big in Bengaluru
India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is meeting France's Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin in Bengaluru on February 17, and this is a moment every Indian should care about. Why? Because India is finally getting serious about making weapons that can protect our borders, not just buying them from others. But before you think this is just another political meeting, let me explain what's really at stake here. The dialogue will review the entire gamut of bilateral defence cooperation, with a focus on expanding industrial collaboration, and that collaboration is going to change how India defends itself.
Catherine Vautrin is coming to Bengaluru specifically because this city represents everything India-France partnership is about. But here's the exciting part—she's not just coming for talks. She will travel to nearby Vemagal in Karnataka to personally witness India's first privately-built helicopter assembly factory. This is massive. When a French Defence Minister travels to see a manufacturing facility being inaugurated, it shows France's commitment to building weapons together with India, not just selling them to us. Our tech capital hosting defence tech collaboration shows that India means business.
Now, let's clear up something important about HAMMER. It is NOT an air-to-air missile that dogfights with enemy aircraft. HAMMER is an air-to-surface weapon, which means fighter jets drop it on ground targets like bunkers, military installations, and hardened structures. Think of it this way: air-to-air missiles are for fighting other aircraft in the sky, but HAMMER is for hitting enemies on the ground from the air. HAMMER transforms standard unguided munitions into long-range precision strike weapons, enabling Indian pilots to neutralize hardened, high-value targets from safe stand-off distances with exceptional accuracy under all-weather conditions. This is crucial because our pilots can stay far from enemy defence systems and still hit their targets accurately.
Which aircraft will use HAMMER? Here's where it gets exciting. The joint venture will supply HAMMER systems for the Indian Air Force's Rafale fleet, the Indian Navy's Rafale-M fighters, and all variants of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft. So our Rafale fighter jets already use it, and now our own homegrown Tejas will get this powerful weapon. Every modern fighter we have can carry HAMMER. Each fighter jet can carry up to six HAMMER missiles at once, meaning one aircraft can hit six different targets in a single mission. The missile weighs about 330 kilograms and nails precise hits even in high-altitude spots. It's "fire-and-forget"—lock on the target, launch it, and you're done. With a range of 70 kilometers, our pilots can strike enemy bunkers and fortified positions from mountainous terrain like Ladakh without risking their aircraft.
Now, about the H125 helicopter Catherine will witness in person. This is a light utility helicopter that does rescue missions, emergency medical transport, and disaster relief. The Airbus H125 can carry a crew of two pilots and up to six passengers, with a useful load of 1,075 kilograms. Most importantly, the H125 is the only helicopter to have landed on Mount Everest, demonstrating its agility in high-altitude, extreme environments. It can operate in high-and-hot conditions and be easily reconfigured for aerial work, firefighting, law enforcement, rescue, air ambulance, and passenger transport. India will manufacture these in Vemagal, and Catherine will see this cutting-edge facility with her own eyes. The plant will produce the Airbus H125 civil helicopter with initial capacity of 10 units yearly, scaling up to 500 helicopters over two decades.
Why is Catherine Vautrin's visit so significant? She is here to sign agreements worth billions. A defence cooperation agreement will be renewed for another 10 years. An MoU for manufacturing Hammer missiles will be signed. But here's something equally important that shows real trust: India and France will launch an "Officer Exchange Program." This means Indian Army officers will actually be stationed inside French military units in France for months, learning how French soldiers work, eat, train, and fight. At the same time, French Army officers will be posted in Indian military establishments. They'll live with us, learn our tactics, understand our terrain, and share their expertise. This is the ultimate sign of trust between nations. Only countries that truly believe in each other do this.
Prime Minister Modi and French President Macron will virtually inaugurate the Tata Airbus H125 helicopter assembly line at Vemagal, and Catherine will witness this historic moment in person at the facility itself.
This is India telling the world: we are not just buying defence equipment anymore, we are making it ourselves with our trusted allies. India is moving from dependency to self-reliance, and Karnataka is where this revolution begins. When Indian soldiers carry HAMMER missiles designed and built in India, when Indian rescue operations use helicopters assembled in Vemagal, when our officers learn from French soldiers in their homeland and vice versa, that's when "Atmanirbhar Bharat" becomes real. This visit is not just diplomacy; it's India's declaration of defence independence.
(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany)
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or position of the publication, its editors, or its management. The publication is not responsible for the accuracy of any information, statements, or opinions presented in this piece.
