US suspends flights to Caribbean country

The armed gangs controlling much of Haiti’s capital had shot at two passenger planes

The US has enacted a 30-day moratorium on all flights to Haiti after two commercial airplanes were attacked at the Port-au-Prince international airport. The UN has also suspended flights into the Caribbean country.

Haiti has descended into anarchy and violence since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021. A Kenyan police mission backed by the UN has been unable to subdue the armed gangs that are now controlling most of the capital.

The UN said on Tuesday it would suspend flights into Haiti for security reasons, “obviously limiting the flow of humanitarian aid and humanitarian personnel into the country.”

That announcement came after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a notice to all US-based airlines that Haiti was temporarily off-limits, citing Monday’s incident at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport.

A Spirit Airlines flight from Florida was on its way to the airport when it was hit by gunfire. A JetBlue plane flying from New York was also struck. Both companies, as well as American Airlines, quickly canceled some of their flights to the country.

The Haitian-owned Sunrise Airways said that its flights to Florida and other Caribbean destinations remain unaffected.

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This was the second time this year that air travel to and from Haiti has been disrupted by the armed gangs. Airports in both Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien were closed for almost three months after a series of shootings in late February, when the gangs pushed for the ouster of acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

Monday’s attacks came as the interim council governing Haiti sacked acting Prime Minister Gary Conille and swore in his replacement, Alix Didier Fils-Aime. Neither has commented on the shootings or the flight ban yet.

“This was a terrorist act; the countries that are following and helping Haiti should declare these armed gangs as terrorist groups,” Luis Abinader, president of the neighboring Dominican Republic, said at a news conference on Monday. The two countries share the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean.

Schools, banks and government offices in Port-au-Prince were closed on Tuesday and the streets were “eerily empty,” AP reported. Gunfire echoed through the streets later in the day. The UN estimates that armed gangs control 85% of the capital.
Fils-Aime has promised to work with outside powers to restore peace and hold elections for the first time since 2016. The US State Department called on him to act swiftly and “prevent further gridlock.”

“The acute and immediate needs of the Haitian people mandate that the transitional government prioritize governance over the competing personal interests of political actors,” the State Department said.