Massachusetts travelers stressed after U.S. attack on Venezuela cancels hundreds of Caribbean flights
Massachusetts travelers are scrambling after major airlines canceled flights to the Caribbean in the wake of United States military action in Venezuela.
Mr. Trump announced on Saturday that the U.S. had successfully carried out an operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. The two were taken out of the country and sent to New York to face narco-trafficking charges. Mr. Trump announced in a press conference that the U.S. will "run" the country until a "safe, proper and judicious transition" can take place, and in the meantime, they will sell Venezuela's oil. Massachusetts lawmakers have condemned the operation.
The FAA imposed restrictions on the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico, Aruba, the Virgin Islands, and other countries. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that the restrictions will be lifted "when appropriate."
But now many Massachusetts residents are stuck during a busy holiday travel week. Ruth Reedy was vacationing in Puerto Rico when she woke up to a text at 5 a.m. saying her flight had been cancelled.
"There were absolutely zero flights available before the 9th. This vacation is going to cost me twice as much as I budgeted for, and I'm a school teacher. I don't have a lot of extra cash lying around," Reedy said.
Reedy is hoping she can teach her 6th-grade English class when they return from the holidays.
"I'm stressed out," Reedy explained. "If [Mr. Trump] had waited a few days, the whole entire nation would be back to work, people would be back from their vacations. This has got to affect thousands and thousands of school children and teachers."
Aruba vacation derailed to Florida
A family from Wilbaraham, Massachusetts was on their way to celebrate a 40th birthday in Aruba when their flight was changed.
"It's my husband's 40th birthday today, and there were 18 of us that were supposed to be going," Chantal Marchese said at Logan Airport.
"We rerouted. So now we're going to South Florida. It might not be Aruba, but we're on vacation," James Marchese added.
James said that while their vacation has gotten derailed, "what needs to take place and what's happening is more important than us making it to Aruba."
JetBlue, which has a large hub at Boston's Logan Airport, said that it had canceled 215 flights so far because of the military action. The airline said that anyone impacted can either rebook or request a refund.
"We will continue to monitor when the Caribbean airspace will reopen and operations can resume," JetBlue said in a statement.
The airline recommended that people continue to check the JetBlue app and JetBlue.com to see if their flight has been impacted.