The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has decided to ban all flights between the United States and Haiti for a period of 30 days due to «safety risks to air operations associated with ongoing security instability.» This also affects flights over Haitian airspace below 10,000 feet.
This decision comes after a Spirit Airlines Airbus A320neo was shot at while attempting to land in Port-au-Prince from Fort Lauderdale on Monday afternoon. A cabin crew member suffered minor injuries, and the flight had to be diverted to Santiago de los Caballeros in the neighboring Dominican Republic. It was later revealed that during an inspection in New York, a JetBlue aircraft returning from Haiti was found to have bullet damage, while another American Airlines plane was also shot, as reported by CNN.
These are not the first instances of commercial aircraft being shot at while trying to land in Haiti, a country facing recurrent political instability and power struggles for decades, with the UN mission led by Brazil yielding limited practical results. In March, an A321 was also targeted by gunfire while landing in Port-au-Prince.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) condemned the recent incidents affecting civil aviation in Haiti and highlighted the need for effective security measures to protect air operations in the country.
«Safe air operations are crucial for Haiti’s connectivity, given its island geography and reliance on aviation for essential goods and mobility,» stated Peter Cerdá, IATA’s Regional Vice President for the Americas, in a statement issued on Monday. «We call on the Haitian government to act swiftly to secure air routes and restore confidence in the aviation sector,» he added.
In addition to Spirit Airlines, which operates a daily flight from Fort Lauderdale to Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien, the other U.S. airlines with a presence in Haiti include American Airlines, with a daily flight between Miami and Port-au-Prince, and JetBlue, with daily service to Port-au-Prince from Fort Lauderdale and New York/JFK.
Other airlines and routes include:
- Intercaribbean Airways: five weekly flights between Providenciales and Cap-Haïtien, and two weekly flights between Providenciales and Port-au-Prince.
- Caicos Express Airways: one daily flight between Providenciales and Cap-Haïtien.
- Air Transat: one weekly flight between Montreal-Trudeau and Port-au-Prince.
- Bahamasair: two weekly flights between Cap-Haïtien and Nassau.
- Air Century: nine weekly flights between Port-au-Prince and Santo Domingo.
Additionally, local airline Sunrise Airways operates this network:
- Cap-Haïtien – Port-au-Prince: 30 weekly flights.
- Cap-Haïtien – Miami: three weekly flights.
- Cap-Haïtien – Les Cayes: 7 weekly flights.
- Les Cayes – Port-au-Prince: 52 weekly flights.
- Port-au-Prince – St. Maarten: one weekly flight.
- Port-au-Prince – Panama City: two weekly flights.
- Port-au-Prince – Pointe-à-Pitre: one weekly flight.
- Port-au-Prince – Antigua: one weekly flight.
