Minnesotans stranded in Caribbean as flights paused following Venezuela strike

Minnesotans and other Americans are stuck in the Caribbean as airlines ground flights following the Jan. 3 pre-dawn U.S. attack on Venezuela.

Officials at the largest airport in Puerto Rico said the Federal Aviation Authority has restricted airspace around the island, prompting dozens of domestic airline cancellations in the region.

The main airports in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Aruba also announced numerous flight cancellations early Saturday.

President Donald Trump said Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife were captured following an overnight military strike on the country, prompting the FAA restrictions.

Delta Air Lines, the largest carrier at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, said it scrubbed a number of flights “in compliance with FAA airspace closures.”

A Delta spokesperson said late Saturday that it would resume flights to affected airports on Jan. 4 after the FAA indicated it will reopen the airspace early Sunday.

Delta issued a waiver for all passengers traveling to or from 13 Caribbean airports Jan. 3-6, with the expectation flights would be rebooked by Jan. 9.

Mechanical issues had originally delayed Cohen’s Delta flight home to Minnesota from Friday to Saturday morning, she said. Then the University of Minnesota faculty member woke up to airspace restrictions.

“I never thought that I’d be stranded in a beautiful Caribbean island [during] an act of war,” she said. “But here we are.”

Delta told affected customers to watch for notifications with instructions on rebooking.

Sun Country Airlines, which is based in Minneapolis, canceled a total of nine flights to and from destinations in the Caribbean.

“The safety of our travelers is our priority,” the airline said. “Once those airports are reopened, Sun Country will arrange new flights for our travelers to/from those destinations. We are closely monitoring the situation.”

Cohen has booked a Delta journey back to Minnesota for Jan. 9, leaving her family to hop between hotels and scramble to do laundry.

“Obviously, we would love for that to be earlier,” Cohen said.

Cohen said she has work to do, and her daughter was scheduled to go back to school next week. She has “no idea” whether the airlines will help her cover extra expenses.