The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement on Jan. 16, that it had issued advisory NOTAMS (Notice to Airmen) for U.S. civil aviation operations in the overwater portions of the Mexico, Central American, Panama, Bogotá, and Guayaquil Flight Information Regions (FIRs), covering waters off the Pacific coasts from Mexico down to Ecuador, extending hundreds of miles out into the Pacific Ocean. According to news reports, no advisories have been issued for airspace over the territories of any of the countries named.
Similar warnings had appeared for Venezuelan airspace days before the U.S. military swooped into that country to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“The FAA advises U.S. civil aviation to exercise caution when flying in the affected areas of airspace due to ongoing military activity and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) interference,” it said.
“There are reports of intermittent GNSS interference occurring in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Although aircraft often recover GNSS shortly after leaving the area of known interference, effects can linger for the duration of the flight and impact follow-on flights,” it warned. “U.S. military aircraft may operate at or below cruising overflight altitudes commonly used by civil aviation with little to no notice and may conduct operations without transponders, as U.S. military operations in the region continue.”
