The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned U.S. airlines to avoid flying over Venezuela due to heightened military activity in the region and fears that a civilian airliner could be accidentally shot down by a Venezuelan air defense system.
The warning was issued to pilots in the form of a NOTAM, which stands for Notice to Airmen, and which is an internationally agreed format to notify aviators of safety issues, ranging from airfield conditions, temporary flight conditions, and military activity.
The NOTAM covers what is known as the Maiquetia Flight Information Region, which also goes by the code SVZM. Spanning 1,204,815 square kilometres, the Maiquetia FIR covers all of Venezuela as well as its territorial waters.
Warning of a “potentially hazardous situation,” the NOTAM states:
“OPERATORS ARE ADVISED TO EXERCISE CAUTION WHEN OPERATING IN THE MAIQUETIA FLIGHT INFORMATION REGION (SVZM FIR) AT ALL ALTITUDES DUE TO THE WORSENING SECURITY SITUATION AND HEIGHTENED MILITARY ACTIVITY IN OR AROUND VENEZUELA.”
“THREATS COULD POSE A POTENTIAL RISK TO AIRCRAFT AT ALL ALTITUDES, INCLUDING DURING OVERFLIGHT, THE ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE PHASES OF FLIGHT, AND/OR AIRPORTS AND AIRCRAFT ON THE GROUND.”
U.S. airlines have been banned from flying to and from Venezuela since May 2019, following an assessment by the Department of Homeland Security, which concluded that the domestic security situation in the country posed a threat to airlines, their crew, and passengers.
The DHS called for the immediate suspension of both passenger and cargo flights between the United States and Venezuela, and this was swiftly enforced by the Department of Transportation.
Despite this ban, U.S. airlines have still been permitted to overfly Venezuela when operating services to other countries.
In the last few weeks, however, both American Airlines and Delta Air Lines had already stopped overflights of Venezuela based on their own internal risk assessments of the worsening security situation and the Trump administration’s targeting of what it describes as “narco terrorists.”
Accompanying the NOTAM, the FAA also provided further background information on its decision, saying there had been an increase in satellite navigation interference in the region, as well as increased military readiness.
“Additionally, since early September, Venezuela has conducted multiple military exercises and directed the mass mobilization of thousands of military and reserve forces,” the FAA explained.
While the agency accepts that the Venezuelan military has not “expressed an intent to target civil aviation,” the FAA warns Venezuela possesses advanced fighter jets and ground air defense systems that could down a civilian airliner.
Although it’s not suggested that Venezuela would deliberately target a U.S. passenger jet, officials could be worried about a similar incident as that of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was downed by a Russian missile over eastern Ukraine in July 2014, resulting in all 298 people onboard being killed.
The FAA stopped short of issuing an outright overflight ban to U.S. airlines but ordered carriers to provide the agency with at least 72 hours’ notice of any planned flight using Venezuelan airspace.
In January, Qatar Airways announced plans to become the first airline in the Middle East to serve the Venezuelan capital Caracas via a stopover in Bogotá, Colombia. The flights were meant to go on sale within months ahead of the service starting this summer.
Those plans are, however, yet to materialize, and the security situation in the region could be a major factor in this delay.
Given the historic links between Spain and Venezuela, a number of Spanish airlines continue to serve Caracas, including flag carrier Iberia, along with Iberojet, Air Europa, and PlusUltra.
