Bride-to-be stuck on idyllic St Barts mocked for desperate offer to pilots after Venezuela operation grounds Caribbean flights
The overnight operation on Venezuela that captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores forced major airlines to cancel nearly 900 flights across the eastern Caribbean.
A Canadian influencer has begged pilots to fly her home from a Caribbean paradise ahead of her wedding after the US strike on Venezuela disrupted hundreds of flights.
Donald Trump revealed a 'large-scale' operation had taken place on Friday night and that US forces had captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
The strike left Venezuelan airspace empty on Saturday as it forced major airlines to cancel nearly 900 flights across the eastern Caribbean.
One stranded vacationer, Syd Wingold, an influencer with more than one million followers, desperately pleaded with pilots in St Barts to fly her back to Toronto in a string of Instagram stories.
At one point, the bride-to-be even told pilots she would happily 'dress as your captain.'
'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,' Wingold shared in one post.
'If you have a plane, please hit me up,' she followed up in a second story. 'Very happy to dress as your captain.'
In a photo of Wingold and her friend lounging on an outdoor couch, she revealed that their flight home had been canceled, with the next available plane not leaving until Friday - an entire week away.
One stranded vacationer, Syd Wingold, an influencer with more than one million followers, desperately pleaded with pilots in St Barts to fly her back to Toronto in a string of Instagram stories
The 'large-scale' operation on Venezuela that captured President Nicolás Maduro (pictured) and his wife Cilia Flores forced major airlines to cancel nearly 900 flights across the eastern Caribbean
She also recalled how the situation felt eerily like 'being stranded in Las Vegas during my bachelorette,' an adventure she had documented on social media back in November.
Hours later, Wingold posted another story, striking a pose before two stationary cranes in a remote field - a stark reminder that she was still stranded and no pilot had come to her rescue.
'I am considering alternative modes of transportation at this time,' she wrote.
'These cranes seem reliable based on size and structural integrity,' she added. 'There is a chance they could lift me to Toronto.'
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a social media post responding to the travel chaos that 'the FAA restricted the airspace in the Caribbean and Venezuela to ensure the safety of the flying public.'
Although Duffy later said the restrictions would lift at midnight EST on Saturday, allowing airlines to resume normal operations, it is expected to be some time before schedules normalize.