KICZ A0012/25 NOTAM…SECURITY…UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ADVISORY FOR POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS SITUATION IN THE MAIQUETIA FLIGHT INFORMATION REGION (SVZM) OPERATORS ARE ADVISED TO EXERCISE CAUTION WHEN OPERATING IN THE MAIQUETIA FLIGHT INFORMATION REGION (SVZM FIR) AT ALL ALTITUDES DUE TO THE WORSENING SECURITY SITUATION AND HEIGHTENED MILITARY ACTIVITY IN OR AROUND VENEZUELA. THREATS COULD POSE A POTENTIAL RISK TO AIRCRAFT AT ALL ALTITUDES, INCLUDING DURING OVERFLIGHT, THE ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE PHASES OF FLIGHT, AND/OR AIRPORTS AND AIRCRAFT ON THE GROUND.
REFER TO THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION NOTICE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THREAT CONCERNS FOR U.S. CIVIL AVIATION OPERATIONS IN THE AFFECTED AIRSPACE AT Prohibitions, Restrictions and Notices | Federal Aviation Administration.
PROVIDE AT LEAST 72-HOUR ADVANCE NOTICE OF PLANNED FLIGHTS TO THE FAA AT FAAWATCH@FAA.GOV WITH SPECIFIC FLIGHT DETAILS.
REPORT ANY SAFETY/SECURITY INCIDENTS OBSERVED/EXPERIENCED WHILE OPERATING IN THE AFFECTED AIRSPACE TO THE FAA’S WASHINGTON OPERATIONS CENTER AT +1 (202) 267-3333
SFC-UNL: 21 NOV 17:43 UTC 2025 UNTIL 19 FEB 23:59 UTC 2026. CREATED: 21 NOV 18:08 UTC 2025
Not good news. But …
My former employer prohibited our operating in Venezuelan controlled airspace about 5 years ago. Which prohibition was still in effect when I retired 2+ years ago. I assume, but can’t immediately confirm, that it’s still in effect before this latest US government action.
As best I know, the other US majors did similarly on a similar timeline. In response to generally reckless and lawless behavior from the Venezuelan government and military.
Of course now with two governments behaving lawlessly in the area, the risk to everyone is rapidly multiplying.
Lemme just say I’m not getting on any small boat or GA plane south of our airspace and maritime Exclusive Zone (*) for the foreseeable future.
(* south of Puerto Rico, the US and Venezuela air and maritime control zones directly border each other)
I hope things are calmed down by June when I go to Aruba.
Here’s a map of the airspace control structure of the Caribbean & Eastern Gulf of Mexico. (That site is old enough it uses http, not https. So your browser may balk at following the link. Don’t worry about that; it’s safe.) This map is not current, but it’s plenty close enough to the current airspace configuration for our purposes here. For scale, the light green overlaid grid of rectangles are each exactly 300nm tall by ~200nm wide.
The Venezuelans control one section on that map that encompasses all their land area plus much of their offshore waters out to about 300 miles offshore, labeled “Maiquetia SVZM”.
Note you can visit every island in the Caribbean, even the non-Venezuelan ones near the Venezuelan shore, without entering that airspace. Those being Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire in the west plus Trinidad and Tobago in the east. Even before any of the instability of the last 30 years there, they’ve been a prickly country that nobody else wanted to depend on for airspace control. So all those islands and the areas around them have been carved out from Venezuelan airspace since long long ago.
Admittedly, battles don’t always stay neatly within lines on maps. But for damned sure if there’s hostilities going on that are leaking out, the US airlines are going to be staying well away, at least after the opening surprise.
Here’s some more on Venezuela: Airlines Halt Venezuela Flights After FAA Issues Security Warning | Aviation Week Network
The article is probably paywalled, but here are some key points:
Those non-US carriers mentioned are everybody of any consequence who still flies (flew) into the country.
So until recently, some US airlines flew through Venezuelan airspace on the way to / from someplace else. Not mine though. But no US carrier has been landing there for ~6 years.
AVweb Nov 25 2025
Western Global is furloughing pilots due to MD-11 Grounding. Apparently Boeing hasn’t released the approved inspection process yet.
Per Western Global Vice President of Human Resources Tom Romnios, “Boeing has now advised that more and highly invasive inspections, as well as repairs and parts replacements would be required, resulting in an extended grounding of the MD-11 fleet for an undeterminable period of time,” he wrote.”
At least as of recently, they have 19 airplanes. 15 of which are MD-11s. They are fuxxored.
The cited article says they have 9 active airplanes, of which 6 are MD-11s. They are still fuxxored.
That’s a lot of wide bodies out of circulation during the holiday season. If it’s got wings it’s probably under contract.
I have a friend in Aruba right now (a somewhat conservative Republican, as it happens) and he seems unconcerned.
Anybody looking for a major career shift?
You might almost think that making the government an undesirable employer (for any job) was all part of their master plan.
I’m being laid off at the beginning of February. Dad was career FAA after career Navy.
I’m too old to be a controller.
Thank you. That gives me some peace of mind.I fly to Aruba every June for a vacation.
The whole thing just makes me very frustrated and angry for everyone who is impacted.
How about support staff for the equipment? They’re going to be replacing a lot of the old stuff.
From AI query:
Training for Air Traffic Control (ATC) support equipment involves hands-on use of simulators and systems like radar, communication, and flight data processing, progressing from basic to complex scenarios. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provides structured training that begins with an initial course at the FAA Academy, followed by on-the-job training at specific facilities.
Guy attempts to leave a taxiing plane, opens emergency door, deploying the inflatable slide.
That was expensive.
There were so many ads in that cite I could hardly find the article. Not a complaint directed at you, just the pitiful state of the www & journalism.
There ought to be an FA stationed at every real door. I could not find what kind of plane it was, but it ought to be a widebody, so no overwing hatches. So how’d this guy get to the door without being stopped?
It appears to be a B777-200.
My wife gets me/us exit row seats, I’ve got a creaky knee. Will part of the new brief to us passengers be, “Are you willing to take on some crazy person trying to escape through the door?” I say bring it, I’m willing to toss them out a non-slide door to the tarmac. Anything to get a move on .
Something the right thing to do is also the gratifying thing to do.