A new alert issued by Spain’s Air Safety Agency (AESA) regarding the danger of flying over Venezuelan airspace has led Spain’s largest airline, Iberia, to expand its Madrid-Caracas route until the end of the year. The brief official communication sent to the airlines states: “As of 31 December 2025, Spanish civil aviation operators are strongly recommended not to undertake any flights in the airspace within the Maiquetía FIR, due to potential risks to civil aviation due to increased military activity, anti-aircraft weapons capabilities at all altitudes and lack of coordination between the parties to the conflict.”
The alarm is sounding at Air Europe, Plus Ultra and Venezuelan airlines operating for Spanish airline operators. The AESA message was practically issued last month on the twenty-fourth of this month, in light of escalating tension in the Caribbean region, in the face of an unprecedented American military deployment since the Gulf War. there Trump administration An offensive has been launched against drug trafficking and terrorist groups that identify with the Venezuelan regime of Nicolas Maduro. Last month, AESA recommended against flying from Venezuela until December 1, which has now led to a security blockade being imposed around the Latin American country until December 31.
Before the Spanish Air Safety Authority, it was the United States Federal Civil Aviation Authority (FAA for its acronym in English) that warned of the high risks of flying in the Maiquetia Information Zone, which includes all of Venezuela and a wide area of the southern Caribbean. The North American had the courage not to fly into the area until February 19.
Venezuelan airspace is actually closed due to the closure of flights of the largest international airlines flying to Caracas. If Venezuela needs a potential executive order, which has not yet been issued, aviation authorities in other countries may issue safety recommendations, such as those mentioned by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the US Civil Aviation Authority (AESA).
Iberia justified the move to extend the suspension of its operations in Caracas within a month (which operate on a daily basis except for Fridays and Sundays) specifically due to the recommendation issued by the AESA, which is affiliated with the Spanish Ministry of Transport. The airline says it is offering affected customers “the ability to change their flights to another destination, or to another nearby destination, or request a refund of the invoice amount.” It reiterates its intention to “restore flights to Venezuela while restoring full security guarantees.” In order to return to this destination, it will be necessary to restore the concession that the Venezuelan Civil Aviation Institute (INAC) canceled last week. Reprisals against Iberia also reached TAP, Turkish Airlines, GOL, Avianca and LATAM, and this was due to what the Maduro government understood to be a US prison facility.
Iberia has a capacity of 126,000 seats annually on the Madrid-Caracas route from Iberia, representing 1.68% of the total activity in its extensive radio operations. Therefore the impact on business is limited. But the situation can be observed every minute.
Other Spanish routes connecting Madrid to Venezuela are Air Europe and Plus Ultra. These people in Iberia have not yet decided to adjust their operations in Latin America, but also in the Venezuelan case. Important markets such as Colombian, Cuban, Panamanian or the Dominican Republic could be complicated by their proximity to the military zone, at most if Trump orders an expansion of the military deployment and use of airports such as the Dominican airports.
Specifically, the EE UU president stirred up more tension in the region this weekend. After announcing that he would begin “very soon” to stop drug trafficking from Venezuela “for a period as well,” he confirmed on Saturday the complete closure of the Caribbean country’s airspace, a decision related to the possibility of a military attack on Venezuela.
The Colombian Civil Aviation Authority denounced the “operational uncertainty” raised by President Trump’s message regarding Venezuelan airspace. The organization confirmed in a statement that it will remain “open and fully operational, without restrictions affecting civil air navigation.” The text rejects “statements issued” by a third country that “do not constitute interference in the sovereign jurisdiction” of Venezuelan airspace. “This type of announcement, which falls within the international normative framework, lacks operational validity and causes confusion in the civil aviation system.” The statement comes a day after Colombian President Gustavo Petro spoke in the same direction.