The Federal Aviation Administration issued a series of international security NOTAMs advising flights to exercise caution over large portions of the eastern Pacific Ocean, including airspace associated with Mexico, Central America and parts of South America.
The NOTAMs, which became effective Jan. 16 and remain in place through March 17, cite potential military activities and global navigation satellite system (GNSS) interference, warning that risks may exist for aircraft at all altitudes, including during overflight and arrival and departure phases.
The warnings encompass a wide area, including overwater areas within the Mexico Flight Information Region, including the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California, as well as the Mazatlan Oceanic FIR. Additional advisories cover portions of the Central America and Panama FIRs, along with the Bogota and Guayaquil FIRs off the coasts of Colombia and Ecuador. A separate NOTAM applies to a defined portion of airspace outside any established FIR in the eastern Pacific.
The NOTAMs come in the wake of heightened regional tensions and recent U.S. military operations in and near Venezuela, although the new NOTAMs do not include airspace immediately over or surrounding that country. U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Jan. 8 interview with Sean Hannity that the U.S. could expand military action against drug cartels, including the possibility of strikes on land targets in Mexico.
“We’ve knocked out 97% of the drugs coming in by water, and we are going to start now hitting land with regard to the cartels,” Trump said at the time. “The cartels are running Mexico — it’s very, very sad to watch and see what’s happened to that country.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded by calling for closer coordination with the U.S., tasking her foreign minister with strengthening communication to avoid unilateral military action.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told Reuters earlier this week that the military coordinated closely with the FAA prior to its Jan. 3 operation in Venezuela.