DENVER — Travelers in the Caribbean, including some Denver residents, are scrambling to find flights back home after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted air restrictions following the U.S. military strikes on Venezuela.
Nathan Schmidt and Erin Sevatson, who both live in Denver, said they're facing thousands of dollars in unexpected expenses after their flight home from St. Maarten was canceled. The couple traveled to the Caribbean island with friends over New Years, but said United Airlines canceled their flight Saturday afternoon because of the airspace restrictions.
"We don't have money left to continue staying in the island, let alone look for another hotel," Schmidt said.
The couple said they are now booked for a flight home on Wednesday, but had trouble finding a new hotel as many are booked because of the holiday. They said the room they found cost $4,000 to stay at until their flight home.
"We don't know if we're going to get reimbursed or anything. We're just stuck with the bill on that," Schmidt said.
The two said they have been in contact with United Airlines for any accommodations, like hotel vouchers, but have had no luck.
"When we asked about hotel vouchers, they were, you know, basically, kind of like, 'Well, are they forcing you to leave the airport?' And we said, 'No, they're not forcing us to leave the airport, but the soonest flight you can get us on is five days from now, we can't stay in the airport for five days,'" Sevatson said.
The Scripp[s reached out to United Airlines to ask how the company is helping impacted travelers after the airspace shutdown. An airline spokesperson said United resumed flights to the Caribbean and added 14 flights Sunday and more on Monday to help customers whose travel was disrupted. The airline's website said it will waive change fees and fare differences for customers needing to reschedule flights.
We also asked the airline if it will provide hotel, rideshare or meal vouchers for travelers stuck in the Caribbean. United Airlines did not address our question in their email response.
Southwest Airlines said it is back to normal operations after the shutdown and added six round-trip flights on Sunday and eight round-trips on Monday and Tuesday to accommodate customers in San Juan. Lynn Lunsford, a spokesman for Southwest, said vouchers are available for cancellations or delays that are within an airline's control. An airspace closure is outside the airline's control. He said Southwest's policy meets or exceeds all U.S. Department of Transportation regulations.
Frontier Airlines told the Scripps News Group he airspace shutdown primarily impacted their flights to Puerto Rico, Aruba, and Sint Maarten. A spokesperson for the airline said the company was forced to cancel several dozen flights on Saturday, the majority to and from San Juan. According to the airline's travel policy, fees related to flight changes and cancellations will be waived in this situation.
The FAA restricted air travel in the Caribbean and Venezuela early Saturday morning to ensure public safety, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Sam Scanlon, a Denver-based national security consultant, said the Trump administration made the right decision to ground commercial flights in the Caribbean after the military strikes in Venezuela.
"The first reason is to protect commercial aircraft carriers," Scanlon said. "It only takes one person to shoot at an incoming aircraft, whether that's commercial or military, to make a difference. So just avoiding that situation altogether from the U.S. government is right."
He said the flight restrictions are also meant to protect U.S. troops.
"If there's a no fly zone in the area where our assets are at in the Caribbean and in that general area, it makes it much more clear and detectable if there's any type of aircraft taking off from Venezuela that's on a direct path to our forces," he said.
While inconvenienced, Schmidt and Sevatson said they understand the need to protect commercial aircraft and travelers. They said their main frustration is with the response from United Airlines, as travelers are stuck with the extra cost of cancellations that are out of their control.
"We're not asking for anything, just a place to sleep, right? Like to stay safe until we can get back to the airport to fly home. I don't think it's an unreasonable ask," Schmidt said.
