Aviation chiefs ‘on watch’ as US warning over Venezuelan airspace remains in force

Aviation leaders in Barbados were maintaining a cautious stance over regional air safety on Monday, despite the resumption of normal flight operations following last year’s widespread cancellations linked to US military manoeuvres near Venezuela.

In late November, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a warning against passenger flights over Venezuela, citing deteriorating security and “potentially hazardous” military activity near the northern city of Maiquetia. This was triggered by the US closing Venezuelan airspace in advance of its strikes on Caracas to capture President Nicolas Maduro and remove him from power.

The advisory notice to pilots, known as a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen or Notice to Air Missions), remains in effect until February 19.

But Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) Inc., Hadley Bourne, indicated that air travel industry players are not letting their guard down.

“We are still NOTAMS-enabled, but it is not impacting air traffic per se… people are just being cautious,” Bourne told Barbados TODAY.

The UK government has since lifted its travel advisory for Barbados regarding potential flight disruptions — an alert issued in the wake of the US attack on Venezuela.

Barbadian authorities have been intensively monitoring the implications of the FAA warning against passenger flights over Venezuela, which cited deteriorating security and “potentially hazardous” military activity near the northern city of Maiquetia.

Director of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Tracey Forde-Bailey, earlier said Barbados had taken note of the situation, which at that stage had not affected the country.

Forde-Bailey told Barbados TODAY: “The NOTAM… what it does is it provides technical advice to the USA carriers. They are asking operators to exercise caution when operating within Venezuelan airspace in the Maiquetia region, and that region is managed by the Venezuelan authority. So, at this time, all we can do is take note of this activity within that area.”

She also suggested that the aviation authorities in Guyana, which shares a border with Venezuela, would also pay closer attention, especially for airlines flying there.

“Any unusual activity within the region would be of interest to every state having boundaries adjacent to Venezuelan airspace,” the civil aviation chief said. “But at this time, all we can do, as I mentioned before, is to take note of the activity.”

The FAA also now requires US operators to “provide at least 72 hours’ advance notice of planned flights to the FAA, with specific flight details”. It directs crews to report any observed security issues to the agency’s Washington DC-based operations centre.

“Operators are advised to exercise caution when operating in the Maiquetia Flight Information Region at all altitudes due to the worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela,” according to the NOTAM. The agency said 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.”

A background statement released the same day as the NOTAM detailed recent operational hazards. Since September, the agency said there has been “an increase in global navigation satellite system (GNSS) interference in the Maiquetia Flight Information Region… as well as activity associated with increasing Venezuelan military readiness”.