The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued a formal security advisory Friday covering all Venezuelan airspace, warning commercial operators of a "potentially hazardous situation" stemming from worsening security conditions and heightened military activity. The notice, effective through mid-February 2026, stops short of prohibiting overflight but requires U.S. carriers to provide 72-hour advance notification before entering the Maiquetía Flight Information Region.
The measure marks the first formal FAA airspace caution over Venezuela since passenger and cargo operations were banned in 2019, and reflects how military mobilization on both sides has turned Venezuela's skies into a new friction point—one where navigation interference, active air defenses, and compressed decision timelines threaten the predictability on which civil aviation depends.
Airspace advisory covers all altitudes, cites GNSS disruption
NOTAM KICZ A0012/25, issued November 21, applies to the entire SVZM Flight Information Region—the air traffic control zone managed by Venezuela that encompasses national territory and extends into the southern Caribbean. The advisory warns that threats "could pose risks to aircraft at all altitudes," including during overflight, arrival, departure, and for aircraft and airports on the ground.
The FAA explicitly links the warning to increased Global Navigation Satellite System interference reported since September, which has disrupted satellite-based navigation during approach and en route phases. GNSS interference undermines precision approaches and increases cockpit workload, especially near congested terminal areas like Maiquetía, the international gateway serving Caracas. Concurrent Venezuelan military exercises and force mobilization add layers of unpredictability: active air defense systems, altered transponder protocols, and potential interception procedures that can create ambiguity for civilian crews operating under instrument flight rules.
U.S. passenger and cargo airlines have been barred from landing in Venezuela since May 2019 due to security concerns, but overflights remained permitted. In recent weeks, however, American Airlines and Delta proactively rerouted traffic around Venezuelan airspace based on internal risk assessments, even before the FAA's formal guidance. The new advisory formalizes caution without imposing a blanket ban, requiring instead that operators email the FAA's operations center 72 hours before any planned transit and report incidents immediately.
Regional force posture narrows safety buffers
The FAA's move comes amid an accelerating U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, including the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group and repeated bomber flights near Venezuelan territorial waters. Venezuela has responded with mass mobilization and numerous defensive exercises since September, including the deployment of missile defenses around the Caracas–La Guaira corridor.
While the FAA does not allege Venezuelan intent to target civilian aircraft, the proximity of capable air defense systems and active military operations compresses margins for error. Airspace becomes a front line not through deliberate policy but through the hazards inherent in heightened readiness: shorter reaction windows, expanded restricted zones, and the risk of misidentification when military and civilian tracks converge in contested or exercise-intensive environments.
Members are reading: Why the FAA chose 72-hour notification over an outright ban, and what it reveals about deconfliction strategy.
What comes next
The advisory's February 2026 expiration offers a natural review point, but near-term indicators will shape whether restrictions tighten or ease. Watch for parallel guidance from EASA or safety bulletins from the International Civil Aviation Organization, which would broaden the advisory's reach beyond U.S. operators. Venezuelan airspace measures—exercise NOTAMs, temporary restricted areas, or interception protocols—will clarify whether Caracas intends to assert tighter control over its FIR. Persistence or geographic spread of GNSS interference into adjacent airspace would escalate concern among regional regulators and airlines.
Ultimately, the FAA's warning formalizes what has been implicit since September: Venezuela's airspace is now part of the escalation ladder. Civil aviation, which thrives on predictability and clear deconfliction, finds itself navigating an environment where military timelines compress safety margins and navigation itself becomes contested. In that context, 72-hour notice is less a bureaucratic formality than a fragile attempt to preserve civilian safety while geopolitical tensions play out overhead.
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