TRAVEL TURMOIL

Hundreds of Flights to Puerto Rico Canceled After Venezuela Attack

Commercial air travel was interrupted after U.S. military action in Venezuela.

More than 300 commercial flights to and from airports in Puerto Rico were canceled on Saturday following U.S. military action in Venezuela, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily restricted air travel for U.S. airlines at several Caribbean airports due to security concerns after the early Saturday morning U.S. attack on Venezuela. Executive director of Puerto Rico’s Ports Authority, Norberto Negrón Díaz, said the FAA ordered a pause on commercial flight activity until 1 p.m. on Sunday, which affects international flights at Puerto Rico airports, including Ceiba, Aguadilla, Ponce, Isla Grande, Vieques, and Culebra, as well as the country’s busiest travel hub, Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport. “In accordance with the FAA directive, Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport has suspended commercial operations, both passenger and cargo, until early Sunday morning. This could cause disruptions to flights to and from [Luis Muñoz Marín International], the main airport in the Caribbean,” Negrón Díaz said, translated from Spanish. “The Port Authority is closely monitoring the situation.” The U.S. military entered Venezuela and forcibly extracted its autocratic president, Nicolas Maduro, in the early hours of Saturday morning. President Donald Trump said in a press briefing that America would “run” the country and seize its oil reserves.