Barbados Already Feeling Fallout from Venezuela Crisis – PM

• Barbados is already experiencing tangible fallout from the escalating crisis in Venezuela, Prime Minister Mia Mottley said on Saturday, as flight disruptions, cruise challenges and concerns over stranded travellers emerged within hours of the US military operation in Caracas.
• Speaking during a press conference at Ilaro Court, Mottley described developments in Venezuela as “uncharted territory” and warned that the consequences long predicted for small states were now being felt in real time.
• Among the most immediate impacts were disruptions to air travel, with 13 scheduled inbound flights cancelled overnight, all of which had been fully booked. The prime minister said US-registered flights were particularly affected after airspace restrictions were imposed across parts of the eastern and southern Caribbean.
• Mottley said regional air travel continued largely uninterrupted but cautioned that the situation remained under close review as countries monitored developments in Venezuela and neighbouring airspace.
• As one of the closest major tourism hubs to Venezuela, the PM noted that the country was also managing knock-on effects at sea. Four cruise ships were already in port on Saturday, with a fifth expected for maintenance and repairs. She said port capacity for overnight berthing had been reviewed and deemed manageable in the short term, though some vessels may need to anchor offshore and rely on tenders.
• An estimated 2,000 cruise passengers could be affected by flight disruptions, she said, while 73 people were directly impacted by the cancellation of a Conviasa flight that had been scheduled to return to Caracas.

(Source: Barbados Today)