GEORGETOWN, Guyana, January 3, 2026, 10:04 ET
- Several flights serving Guyana were delayed or canceled on Saturday, after U.S. military action in Venezuela triggered airspace warnings and knock-on disruption across the Caribbean.
- KLM warned passengers its flights to and from Georgetown may be disrupted; flight-tracking data listed the airline’s KL783 service touching Georgetown as canceled.
- Flight-tracking data showed a U.S.-bound departure from Georgetown left nearly three hours late, with another Miami service also delayed.
Flights at Guyana’s main international gateway in Georgetown were disrupted on Saturday, with cancellations and multi-hour delays showing up on airline and flight-tracking updates after U.S. strikes in neighboring Venezuela.
The disruption matters now because Guyana sits on Venezuela’s eastern flank and has become a key entry point for business travel into the region, including for the country’s fast-growing oil sector.
It also underscores how quickly a geopolitical shock can ripple into commercial aviation, as airlines and air traffic authorities issue safety alerts and reroute traffic when military activity escalates.
Venezuela’s government said the United States carried out attacks in multiple locations, rejecting what it called “military aggression,” in a statement reported by Reuters.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued safety notices for parts of airspace near Venezuela, prompting widespread flight cancellations around the Caribbean, Axios reported. A NOTAM — a short aviation safety notice to pilots — can force airlines to reroute flights or suspend service.
KLM said some of its flights to, from or via Georgetown and several Caribbean destinations “may be disrupted” from Saturday through Tuesday because of the security situation in Venezuela, according to a notice on its travel alerts page.
Flight-tracking data listed KLM’s KL783 service — which includes a segment serving Georgetown — as canceled on Saturday, according to Flightradar24.
At Cheddi Jagan International Airport, American Airlines flight AA1512 to Miami departed at 8:01 a.m. local time, nearly three hours behind schedule, according to FlightStats.
Surinam Airways’ PY421 to Miami also left late, departing 37 minutes behind schedule, FlightStats showed in its flight tracker.
Airlines have urged passengers to check their apps and websites for rebooking options as airspace restrictions and reroutings cascade through schedules.
Guyana has sought to keep air links running as regional tensions rise, but carriers have moved quickly to adjust operations when safety notices change routing options.
Oil markets were watching for signs of broader escalation after the strikes, highlighting Guyana’s exposure as a regional business hub. “The price impact has been limited so far, suggesting oil markets are adopting a wait and see stance to see whether this remains a one-off strike or escalates into a wider conflict,” Saul Kavonic, an energy analyst at MST Marquee, said in a separate Reuters report.
For now, flight status boards show disruption rather than a complete halt, but airlines and airports across the Caribbean are bracing for more schedule changes if airspace warnings persist.
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