Copa, Wingo, Satin and Boliviana have suspended flights to Venezuela, citing issues with navigation signals and safety concerns.
Published December 4, 2025
BOGOTA, Colombia – Days after U.S. President Donald Trump declared an airspace closure in the South American country, the last international airline serving the country has suspended flights to the country.
Panamanian airline Copa and its low-cost Colombian subsidiary Wingo announced Wednesday night that they would suspend flights to Caracas on Dec. 4 and 5, while Colombian national carrier Satena and Bolivia’s flagship airline Boliviana de Aviación also canceled flights on Thursday.
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
“Due to an intermittent problem with one of the navigation signals during our flight to Caracas today,[Copa and Wingo]have taken the precautionary decision to temporarily suspend flights to and from this city,” Copa and Wingo said in a statement.
The companies added that the disruption “in no way compromised the safety of their operations,” and a spokesperson told Al Jazeera that both airlines’ aircraft were affected by the signal issue.
On Thursday, Colombian government airline Satena suspended its routes to Valencia, Venezuela’s third-largest city, and Boliviana also canceled flights to Caracas. Neither has released an official statement as of this article’s publication.
Following the suspension, no international airlines fly to Venezuela, although several national carriers continue to operate international flights.
The grounding also follows several major airlines suspending operations after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a 90-day warning on November 21 about the dangers to commercial aircraft flying over Venezuelan airspace.
The FAA cited “the deteriorating security situation and increased military activity in or around Venezuela” as the reason for the large-scale buildup of U.S. forces in the Southern Caribbean.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty.”
On Saturday, President Trump unilaterally declared a “total closure” of Venezuelan airspace. Copa, Wingo, Satena and Boliviana were the only international airlines to continue flying to Venezuela following these warnings.
The cancellations were a blow to the Venezuelan diaspora, who had already faced travel disruptions and were planning to return home for the holidays. Others who had already visited the country are now struggling to return home.
“Many people share the concern about these flight cancellations,” said Juan Carlos Viloria Doria, Venezuelan vice president of the Colombian migrant network Barranquilla. “Especially at this time of year, when people want to reunite with family and friends for Christmas. It is unfortunate that Venezuelans have to live with so much anxiety because of the political situation.”
Cancellations complicate travel plans, especially for Venezuelan residents who may have to make dangerous overland journeys.
Viloria called on Venezuelans to plan their trips in coordination with family, friends and migrant networks, and to consult official information from government sources.
Colombia’s Venezuelan migrant community, numbering about 2.8 million people, is the largest in the world, and many are waiting with bated breath as tensions rise between Washington and Caracas.
