On Jan. 3, 2026, the United States raided Caracas, Venezuela, to abduct President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. As a consequence of this action, airspace in the Caribbean was closed to U.S. aircraft. Also, a bunch of influencers and wealthy vacationers got stuck on the island of St. Barts—and the internet has come together to make fun of them.
Once the United States’ “Operation Absolute Resolve” was underway, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced in a social media post that “in support of the Department of War, the FAA restricted the airspace in the Caribbean and Venezuela to ensure the safety of the flying public.”
As a result of the U.S.’ actions, airspaces throughout the region saw disruption. Regional Gateway reports that around 60% of all flights destined for airports in the region were canceled. Included in this was the airport on Saint Barthélemy.
This left those who had traveled to these idyllic destinations in a bit of a pickle. Unable to travel, they were forced to spend more time on the island. A handful of them did not take this news well.
St. Barts Tourists Freak Out
As soon as flights began getting canceled, social media influencers who were visiting the island started posting in search of assistance.
According to the Daily Mail, Syd Wingold, an influencer with over 1 million followers, had her flight canceled and the makeup flight scheduled for a week later. Seeing this, she made several posts begging for rides out of the country.
“Is anyone currently in St Barts or St Martin with a plane flying back to North America who would be open to letting me come along. I can come in a costume and will be extremely respectful,” she shared in a post. She later added that she would be “very happy to dress as your captain.”
Another influencer, Rebecca Hessel Cohen (@becknyc), posted a reel documenting her experience trying to leave the island. Eventually, she chartered a “private commercial flight with about 50 friends and friends of friends.” She says the flight could have held 150 people.
“College girls racing back for sorority rush, a friend needing an emergency doctor’s appointment, and a group of moms holding it together through peak anxiety while trying to stay calm,” she wrote in part in the video’s caption.
While comments under this video were largely positive, other discussions, including some on Reddit, called Cohen’s move “so so out of touch and so cringe.”
One travel agent also posted her own video of her attempts to get clients out of the region.
The Internet Piles On
In response to stories and videos like these, social media users began to mock those who were complaining about being stuck on the island.
Quickly, posts about the stranded influencers went viral. One video, which currently has over 2.6 million views, jokingly speculated about the circumstances that led to this situation.
“If you feel bad about your life right now, just know that there’s some group of people right now in St. Barts that was flown out, right, by a certain dude,” said TikTok user RP (@rp_profits). “They got flown out to St. Barts, but they’re not getting flown back, right? So they’re just stranded in Terminal 304B, you know, hitting all the DMs, trying to pull all the strings that they can pull, because the guy who sponsored them didn’t really give that much of a [expletive] about them.”
It should be noted that there does not appear to be a real story matching this description. Additionally, the gate “304B” mentioned is likely a play on the slang “304.”
Some Of Them Didn’t Mind
Naturally, not everyone was put off by the idea of spending a few more days at a luxurious destination.
A few users made videos sarcastically lamenting the fact that they were forced to spend another day or two at the beach. Others simply continued to post videos and photos of themselves relaxing near the ocean.
As noted by Vanity Fair, the island also filled with themed parties given just how many people were stuck for several extra days.
@parkaveprincesss2 Manifested not leaving a little to hard and now we’re stuck in st BARTHS ugh what a drag #stbarths #stuckinstbarths #airspacealert #airspaceclosed
Now, it seems that most of these influencers are safely back home. While they may be upset that they had to spend extra money and time on the island, the internet is quick to remind them that they’re also upset—because they can’t afford to go in the first place.