When you can’t get home from the Caribbean and nobody feels sorry for you
The airspace above portions of the Caribbean was closed after U.S. military action in Venezuela.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—Synda Clements came here to celebrate her 40th birthday and ring in the New Year.
Now, she’s just looking for a way home.
Clements, who met in San Juan with friends and family—including two from Ireland and three from Indiana—was supposed to head back to New York on Saturday evening. But that morning, friends scheduled to leave on an earlier flight alerted the group that the airspace above the Caribbean island was closed after U.S. military action in Venezuela. All flights were being canceled.
To make matters worse, some of her friends back home aren’t too sympathetic. She’s getting messages along the lines of “Boo hoo, you’re stuck on an island,” she said.
Synda Clements came to Puerto Rico to celebrate her 40th birthday.
The strikes in Caracas and arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro have upended the geopolitical order across Latin America. It also created the ultimate first-world problem: tens of thousands of travelers stuck in exotic locations.
Those who are stranded want everyone to know that while they’re not complaining, they’re not exactly having fun.
Many have spent the past few days in a frenzy of phone calls and web searches for flights. Sure, they may have been poolside, in 80-degree weather. But trying to get a live airline agent is hell in any setting.
“It was like ‘The Hunger Games,’” said Laurel Cormie, who along with her daughter Eden scrambled to find a way home from Aruba after their flight was canceled on Saturday.
Flights kept disappearing as they entered their passport information onto airline websites. Other travelers reported getting to the stage of putting in their credit-card information when flights vanished. One was transferred to the airline’s international reservations phone line, despite explaining that Puerto Rico is in the U.S.
Passengers wait at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport.
It isn’t clear yet whether travel insurance or airlines will cover the extra costs.
Families often budget carefully for a big vacation. They set aside money for souvenirs and some incidentals, but don’t factor in what might happen if that trip suddenly doubles in length—and prices for limited flights and hotel rooms skyrocket. It isn’t clear yet whether travel insurance or airlines will cover the extra costs.
Brianna Vasquez walked around a San Juan shopping mall Monday with her 13- and 7-year-old kids, trying to pass the time as they hoped for more affordable flights to open up. Vasquez, 31, her husband and their kids arrived in Puerto Rico in late December along with her in-laws, who paid for the trip. They are now booked to go home Jan. 10.
“I don’t want to sound bratty because I am on an island, but we plan for one vacation once a year,” she said. She is taking an unpaid week off work from her job at a hospital because of the extended trip, and worries about the school her kids are missing.
Vasquez spent Sunday night checking hourly for better flight options, considering any that would get them to the East Coast—where they could eventually make their way home to New Jersey. She also went to the airport hoping to buy flights in person, to no avail. Some airlines added flights to try to accommodate the demand after Saturday’s cancellations.
Brianna Vasquez and her family are now booked to return on Jan. 10.
The group of eight family members would split up so two or four of them fly back at a time. “People say, ‘You’re on vacation, enjoy it,’ but they don’t see the expenses,” she said.
Lori Vasquez (no relation to Brianna) told the medical practice where she works as a physician assistant that it might seem like she was making this up, but she was stuck in Puerto Rico and couldn’t get back to work.
She, her husband and their two teenagers were supposed to fly back to Indianapolis on Saturday, but will be on the island until Tuesday. Things could be far worse, Vasquez said. Their initial Southwest Airlines flights home were canceled, but fully refundable, which makes it easier to swallow the nearly $2,800 United charged for four economy tickets. On Sunday night, they Doordashed pizza in the hopes of saving a bit of money.
Lori Vasquez and her family were supposed to fly back to Indianapolis on Saturday.
“This was definitely not on my bingo card for 2026,” the 51-year-old said.
Synda Clements was originally offered a flight home Friday. Convinced she could find something sooner, she took a refund from Spirit Airlines.
She and her husband have been switching hotels every night since Saturday, and are now scheduled to head back to New York on Tuesday. They’ve had to enlist friends to take care of their saltwater fish tank back home.
“Nobody really feels sorry for us,” said her brother, Kane Clements. He and his wife are scheduled to get back to Elkhart, Ind., on Friday.
They perked up when they heard there was a good mall nearby. The second-floor laundry room at their hotel has been crowded and clean clothes are running low. Mostly, though, they are focused on making sure their older kids and other family members can watch their 4-year-old until they’re back.
Kane has run through a bevy of emotions since Saturday. “Grief was that morning,” he said. “I think we’re in the acceptance stage.”
