When thousands of travelers got stranded in the Caribbean last weekend, Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) and American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) had to scramble. The culprit? Flight restrictions imposed by the Trump administration following a military raid in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.

Students Caught in the Chaos

The timing couldn't have been worse for students heading back to school. Business Insider reported Monday that college students found themselves stuck in airport limbo with no clear path home.

Catalina Rodriguez, a veterinary student, was supposed to fly with American Airlines on Saturday. Her flight got delayed, and she wasn't alone—several classmates faced similar cancellations. The situation created a frustrating wrinkle: because these cancellations stemmed from government action rather than airline operations, carriers aren't legally required to compensate passengers for refunds or accommodations. Some flights did manage to operate, but they took significant detours to avoid restricted airspace.

Airlines Rush to Add Capacity

Delta moved quickly to address the backlog. In an official statement Sunday, the airline announced it was adding more than 2,600 seats through extra flights across its Caribbean network for Monday, January 5. The carrier cautioned that some Monday flights could still face delays as operations normalized.

American Airlines went even bigger. The carrier added nearly 2,000 additional seats on top of 5,000 previously announced, bringing the total to roughly 7,000 seats across 43 extra flights. The airline also got creative with intra-island operations in the Eastern Caribbean, scheduling two special flights connecting Anguilla Wallblake (AXA) and Beef Island, British Virgin Islands (EIS) to San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU).

Restrictions Lifted

The good news came when Transport Secretary Sean Duffy announced that flight restrictions were being lifted, allowing airlines to resume normal Caribbean operations.

This wasn't the first warning about Venezuelan airspace. Back in November, the Federal Aviation Administration had cautioned flights against flying over Venezuela at any altitude, citing safety threats to aircraft.