how long will the airspace be closed

For the current Caribbean situation, the main U.S. airspace restrictions tied to the Venezuela strikes have already been lifted, and flights are allowed to resume, but knock‑on delays and schedule disruptions are expected for several days rather than weeks.

What’s officially happening

• U.S. authorities advised airlines that the special Caribbean airspace curbs would expire at midnight Eastern Time (0500 GMT), meaning the formal closure period ended at that time and the airspace reopened.

• The same guidance said that flights could resume once the curbs expired, so the closure itself is no longer in effect as of that midnight deadline.

How long impacts are likely to last

• Industry analysis notes that even though the airspace restrictions expired at midnight, operators expect delays and irregular operations to ripple through schedules over “the next several days.”

• Airlines are adding back Caribbean flights and “scrambling” to restore service, which usually means a few days of rolling disruption as aircraft and crews get back into position.

What this means for your trip

• If your flight is within the next 2–3 days, you should plan for possible delays, time changes, or aircraft swaps even though the airspace itself is open again.

• The most accurate “how long” answer for an individual traveler will come from checking your airline’s app or website plus airport departure boards the night before and morning of departure, because schedules are being updated in near real time.

Why answers differ online

• Some forum posts and waiver notices refer to specific airline travel‑waiver windows (for example, January 4–6) that cover when you can change tickets for affected Caribbean airports, but those windows are airline policy dates, not the literal legal airspace‑closure period.

• General discussions about airspace closures (including other regions and scenarios) often note that authorities do not always announce an exact end time in advance, which is why relying on official NOTAMs and airline alerts is important for any future events.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.