Breaking: FAA halts flights into Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach and Orlando airports due to ‘space launch debris’

I travel to 20+ countries a year sharing my firsthand knowledge of reward travel, travel credit card deals, travel tips and more.

The FAA has just issued a surprising reason for flight delays in parts of Florida. SpaceX lost another Starship (Starship 8) shortly after its launch from Texas, prompting flight diversions due to the risk of debris off the coast of Florida into the Atlantic.

Aviation blogger Jon Ostrower was the first to report on the diversions, which also affected airspace near Turks and Caicos.

Diversions widespread near Turks and Caicos. pic.twitter.com/8oCurL6rja

— Jon Ostrower (@jonostrower) March 7, 2025

Additionally, parts of the Caribbean, including the Dominican Republic and Haiti, were also affected by these diversions.

Diversions aplenty across the Caribbean following the loss of another Starship. pic.twitter.com/4iR92MwxjN

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 7, 2025

CNN’s Pete Muntean also shared the news on X: “Breaking: The FAA is halting flights into Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Orlando airports for “space launch debris” until at least 8 p.m. EST. The move follows the failed launch of SpaceX’s Starship, which lifted off from Starbase in South Texas about 45 minutes ago.”

BREAKING: The FAA is halting flights into Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Orlando airports for “space launch debris” until at least 8 p.m. EST.

The move follows the failed launch of SpaceX’s Starship, which lifted off from Starbase in South Texas about 45 minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/bX9vLSClde

— Pete Muntean (@petemuntean) March 7, 2025

Below is a video of Starship 8 exploding:

Full Video of Starship 8. pic.twitter.com/VwOmv9w3uc

— Alex Oha (@oha_alex) March 6, 2025

And here is video of the debris falling from the sky off the coast of the Bahamas.

#SpaceX #Starship we are taking cover here in the Ragged Islands, Bahamas. Cross your fingers for us! pic.twitter.com/ncwGcFhC1B

— GeneDoctor (@GeneDoctorB) March 6, 2025

Another angle of the surreal debris:

Just saw Starship 8 blow up in the Bahamas @SpaceX @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/rTMJu23oVx

— Jonathon Norcross (@NorcrossUSA) March 6, 2025

It appears the airspace has been cleared, but airport delays in these regions are still being affected. Below is a screenshot of the FAA’s National Airspace System Status showing that “departures from Miami International are delayed an avg. 45 mins. (and decreasing) due to other: space launch debris.”

After a series of aviation accidents in the last month and a half that caused passengers considerable anxiety, it seems there’s now a new concern to worry about: space launch debris.