US halts air travel to Caribbean nation
Flights to and from Haiti have been suspended by the US and the UN following incidents where two civilian airliners were hit by gunfire at Port-au-Prince airport. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Armed gangs in Haiti have escalated their control, recently shooting at two passenger planes in the capital. In response, the US has implemented a 30-day ban on all flights to Haiti, while the UN has also halted flights into the country.
Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, Haiti has spiraled into chaos and violence. A Kenyan police operation, supported by the UN, has struggled to quell the armed groups that dominate much of Port-au-Prince.
The UN announced on Tuesday that it would suspend flights to Haiti for security concerns, “obviously limiting the flow of humanitarian aid and humanitarian personnel into the country.” This declaration followed a notice from the Federal Aviation Administration to US airlines, marking Haiti as temporarily off-limits due to the incidents at Toussaint Louverture International Airport.
A Spirit Airlines flight from Florida was struck by gunfire as it was approaching the airport, while a JetBlue flight from New York also came under fire. In response, Spirit, JetBlue, and American Airlines rapidly canceled several flights to Haiti. Conversely, Haitian-owned Sunrise Airways reported that its flights to Florida and other Caribbean destinations remain operational.
This incident marks the second disruption of air travel to and from Haiti this year due to gang violence. The airports in Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien were shut down for nearly three months following a spate of shootings in late February, as gangs demanded the removal of acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
The shootings occurred just after the interim governing council of Haiti dismissed acting Prime Minister Gary Conille and appointed Alix Didier Fils-Aime as his successor. Neither Fils-Aime nor Conille has yet commented on the gunfire or the flight restrictions.
“This was a terrorist act; the countries that are following and helping Haiti should declare these armed gangs as terrorist groups,” stated Luis Abinader, president of the Dominican Republic, during a Monday news conference. Both nations share the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean.
On Tuesday, schools, banks, and government offices in Port-au-Prince remained closed, creating eerily empty streets, according to AP reports. Gunfire continued to reverberate throughout the day, with the UN estimating that armed gangs now control 85% of the capital.
Fils-Aime has vowed to collaborate with external partners to restore peace and facilitate elections for the first time since 2016. The US State Department urged him to take swift action to “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 emphasized.
Thomas Evans for TROIB News
Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, Haiti has spiraled into chaos and violence. A Kenyan police operation, supported by the UN, has struggled to quell the armed groups that dominate much of Port-au-Prince.
The UN announced on Tuesday that it would suspend flights to Haiti for security concerns, “obviously limiting the flow of humanitarian aid and humanitarian personnel into the country.” This declaration followed a notice from the Federal Aviation Administration to US airlines, marking Haiti as temporarily off-limits due to the incidents at Toussaint Louverture International Airport.
A Spirit Airlines flight from Florida was struck by gunfire as it was approaching the airport, while a JetBlue flight from New York also came under fire. In response, Spirit, JetBlue, and American Airlines rapidly canceled several flights to Haiti. Conversely, Haitian-owned Sunrise Airways reported that its flights to Florida and other Caribbean destinations remain operational.
This incident marks the second disruption of air travel to and from Haiti this year due to gang violence. The airports in Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien were shut down for nearly three months following a spate of shootings in late February, as gangs demanded the removal of acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
The shootings occurred just after the interim governing council of Haiti dismissed acting Prime Minister Gary Conille and appointed Alix Didier Fils-Aime as his successor. Neither Fils-Aime nor Conille has yet commented on the gunfire or the flight restrictions.
“This was a terrorist act; the countries that are following and helping Haiti should declare these armed gangs as terrorist groups,” stated Luis Abinader, president of the Dominican Republic, during a Monday news conference. Both nations share the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean.
On Tuesday, schools, banks, and government offices in Port-au-Prince remained closed, creating eerily empty streets, according to AP reports. Gunfire continued to reverberate throughout the day, with the UN estimating that armed gangs now control 85% of the capital.
Fils-Aime has vowed to collaborate with external partners to restore peace and facilitate elections for the first time since 2016. The US State Department urged him to take swift action to “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 emphasized.
Thomas Evans for TROIB News
