The Panamanian airline Copa Airlines reported this Tuesday that it is extending the temporary suspension of flights to and from Caracas until January 15.waiting for “the main runway of the Maiquetía International Airport to be operational again.”
This is the third extension of the flight suspension announced by Copa, since it did so for the first time on December 4 and renewed it on December 12, amid tensions between Venezuela and the United States due to Washington’s fight against drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Pacific.
“Copa Airlines informs that it has decided to extend the temporary suspension of its operations to and from Caracas until Thursday, January 15, 2026, the date on which it is estimated that the main runway of the Maiquetía International Airport will be operational again, including its instrument landing system,” a company statement indicated this Tuesday.
He added that given “the demand for travel at this time of year, Copa Airlines has increased its frequency of flights between Panama and the city of Cúcuta, Colombia, bordering the state of Táchira in Venezuela.”
“Additionally, as part of the evaluation of operational alternatives, today, Tuesday, December 16, 2025, the Copa Airlines cargo aircraft, B737-800BCF, registration HP1990W, is conducting a test flight to La Chinita International Airport, in Maracaibo, Venezuela, where Copa has not had regular flights since July 2024,” he added.
Several airlines have canceled flights to Venezuela after on November 21 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States had urged “extreme caution” when flying over the country and the southern Caribbean in the face of what it considers “a potentially dangerous situation” in the area.
This in the context of the unprecedented US military deployment in the Caribbean, defended by the White House as part of its strategy against drugs from South America, but which the Venezuelan government led by Nicolás Maduro calls a “threat” and an attempt to promote a regime change.
US President Donald Trump said on November 29 on the Truth social network that Venezuelan airspace would remain closed “in its entirety.”
