The U.S. attack on Venezuela caused the Federal Aviation Administration to put out an emergency order shutting down parts of the Caribbean airspace on Saturday, leaving some Philly area residents stranded in a foreign country amid the international conflict.

Hundreds of flights were canceled across the country on Saturday, including at PHL. However, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said late on Saturday that the Caribbean airspace would reopen at midnight on Sunday.

UPDATE: The original restrictions around the Caribbean airspace are expiring at 12:00am ET and flights can resume.

Airlines are informed, and will update their schedules quickly. Please continue to work with your airline if your flight was affected by the restrictions. https://t.co/5Cv46Xnjy4

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) January 4, 2026

At PHL on Saturday, there were a total of 29 flight cancelations, and 27 of them were to or from a destination under the no fly zone, including San Juan, Aruba, Cancun, Barbados, St. Thomas, St. Lucia and St. Maarten.

Nancy Colbert, from Downington, told NBC10’s Kelsey Kushner that she and her husband spent the last week vacationing in Aruba, but their flight back to Philly was canceled.

“We were supposed to fly out at 3:40,” she said later Saturday evening. “Our biggest thing is we don’t know when we’re going to get home, and that’s the problem.”

Noah Kilshaw, from Philly, told NBC10 he is stuck in Puerto Rico.

“We’ve been spending all day looking for other flights,” he said.

According to Kilshaw, tensions on the U.S. island territory were high on Saturday due to people not knowing when the airspace would reopen.

“The island has definitely been on edge,” he said. “There’s been increased police presence and patrols off shore, and you can definitely sense a bit of tension and anxiety in the air just walking around.”

Airlines are warning passengers that flight disruptions could continue for days and are advising people scheduled to take a trip to an impacted regions to regularly check for updates.

The U.S. attack on Venezuela has prompted reactions from Venezuelans all over the world, including Venezuelan-Americans living in the Philly region. NBC10’s Siobhan McGirl has the story.