The airspace wasn’t closed
The events in Venezuela in the early hours today are now well known.
Curaçao woke up this morning to the news that the United States had taken action and conducted a raid in the South American country that resulted in the capture of President Nicholas Maduro. News that that Curaçao’s airspace was closed to all flights quickly spread following an official announcement from the local government on its Facebook page..
Except that it wasn’t.
The US federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had issued a NOTAM prohibiting US commercial operators from flying in the Curaçao Flight Information region (FIR). This NOTAM only applied to US-registered aircraft and US operators. This was all clearly spelled-out in the NOTAM. Flights to Curaçao by JetBlue, United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines and Global X were all cancelled. On their own, KLM, TUI, Corendon (operated by World 2 Fly), Winair and Avianca, also canceled the day’s flights out of safety concerns. Local airlines Divi Divi and Z Air continued inter-island travel throughout the day.
Rumours on local social media pages that Air Canada Rouge’s flight from Toronto (YYZ/CYYZ) had also been cancelled proved unfounded. The flight, AC 1864, departed Toronto 41 minutes late at 1051am following what looked like major congestion at the de-icing ramp. It landed at Hato International Airport at 415pm.
2 hours after the initial announcement, the Curaçao government corrected itself on its official Facebook page but the damage was done. Despite updates by the airport and multiple airlines, as late as 4pm, online posts by residents and travelers alike still reflected the erroneous message that the airspace was closed.
A warm “Bon Bini” to all our newly arrived visitors.
Note: Photos of Copa and Divi Divi are from my archives and were not taken today.
(Click on an image to enlarge)
© 2026 Patrick Lalande. All rights reserved.
