FAA Issues 60 Day Flight Warning Over Latin America

On January 16, 2026, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a sweeping advisory urging U.S. pilots and airlines to exercise heightened caution when flying over large swathes of the Pacific Ocean adjacent to Latin America, as well as over Mexico, Central America, and parts of South America. The warning, distributed through a series of Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs), comes amid mounting military activity and concerns about satellite navigation interference in the region, according to reports from ABC News, The New York Times, and Fox News.

The FAA’s advisory, effective for 60 days from January 16 through March 17, 2026, covers the Central America Flight Information Region, which includes significant portions of the eastern Pacific Ocean. The agency specifically highlighted that “potential risks exist for aircraft at all altitudes, including during overflight and the arrival and departure phases of flight.” This caution applies to all U.S. air carriers, commercial operators, and pilots flying U.S.-registered civil aircraft, with the FAA emphasizing that the risks stem from ongoing military operations and possible interference with Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), which are crucial for modern aviation navigation.

The FAA’s directive follows a period of intensified U.S. military engagement throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. Over recent months, the U.S. has conducted a sustained campaign of strikes targeting maritime drug-trafficking vessels in both the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific. Tensions escalated further in early January when a large-scale U.S. military operation in Caracas, Venezuela, led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. This dramatic event, confirmed by Fox News, has prompted renewed scrutiny of the region’s airspace and the safety of civil aviation routes that intersect with potential military operations.

“We’ve knocked out 97% of the drugs coming in by water, and we are going to start now hitting land,” President Donald Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in early January, signaling an expansion of anti-cartel operations. “The cartels are running Mexico, it’s very sad to watch and see what’s happened to that country.” The FAA’s advisories, while not directly referencing these statements, are widely understood to reflect the cascading effects of such military campaigns on air navigation and safety.

One particularly alarming incident underscoring the FAA’s concerns occurred in December 2025. A JetBlue Airways Airbus A320, climbing out of Curaçao, was forced to halt its ascent to avoid a near collision with a U.S. Air Force refueling tanker operating near Venezuela. The tanker, notably, had its transponder turned off—a move typical of military flights but hazardous for civilian aircraft relying on electronic signals to maintain situational awareness. According to Fox News and The New York Times, such events are not isolated, raising the specter of navigation anomalies and reduced safety margins for civil aviation in the region.

The FAA’s NOTAMs urge operators to “exercise caution” at all altitudes, emphasizing that military aircraft might operate without standard surveillance signatures, such as active transponders. This could reduce situational awareness for both pilots and air traffic controllers, increasing the risk of mid-air incidents. The advisories also ask pilots who experience or observe safety or security incidents in the affected airspace to report them promptly to the FAA’s Washington Operations Center.

While the warnings primarily apply to U.S.-registered carriers and commercial operators, the ripple effects are being felt across the broader aviation community. Airlines operating internationally have responded by adjusting their flight planning processes, ensuring that route risk assessments account for the possibility of military operations intersecting with civil flight paths. According to The Associated Press, no reported disruptions have occurred directly due to military activity since the NOTAMs were issued, but the advisory has encouraged operators to maintain heightened vigilance in the affected regions.

Mexico’s civil aviation authorities, for their part, have sought to reassure the public and industry stakeholders. Officials clarified that the FAA advisories are preventive and do not impact Mexico’s sovereign airspace or carriers based there. “Civil aviation operations through Mexican airspace remain unaffected, with no imposed restrictions or changes to existing flight procedures,” one official noted, as reported by local media. Nonetheless, airlines are integrating the FAA guidance into their operational planning, recognizing the dynamic nature of the regional security environment.

The scope of the FAA’s advisory is extensive. Notices were issued for specified areas including Mexico, Central America, Panama, Bogotá, Guayaquil, and the Mazatlán Oceanic Flight Regions, as well as airspace within the eastern Pacific Ocean. The FAA has issued seven such advisories in total, each covering different but overlapping portions of the Pacific Ocean near Mexico, Central America, and parts of South America. While the agency has issued similar warnings in recent years—often tied to periods of increased U.S. military activity or regional hostilities—the current advisories reflect an especially volatile moment in hemispheric affairs.

It’s worth noting that the FAA routinely issues such notices in regions where hostilities are occurring nearby, or where military operations may encroach on civil airspace. According to The New York Times, these advisories serve a dual purpose: they alert civil aviation operators to potential hazards while also signaling the seriousness with which U.S. authorities view the evolving security situation. The current notices, however, appear to be broader and more urgent than those in recent memory, reflecting both the scale of military operations in the region and the potential for navigation interference from electronic warfare or jamming.

As the 60-day advisory period unfolds, aviation stakeholders—including flight crews, dispatchers, and air navigation personnel—are being urged to stay updated with any changes or extensions to the NOTAMs. The FAA’s guidance underscores the importance of close coordination with air navigation service providers and thorough pre-flight risk assessments. Pilots and airlines are expected to monitor developments closely, as the intersection of aviation safety and geopolitical complexity shows no signs of abating.

With U.S. military actions intensifying and the regional security situation in flux, the FAA’s warning serves as a stark reminder of the hidden risks that can lurk in even the most routine international flights. For now, the skies over the Pacific and Latin America remain open, but not without a new layer of caution—and a watchful eye on what comes next.