After three instances of US commercial aircraft being struck by bullets in Haiti, the Federal Aviation Administration had banned all flights to the Caribbean nation. However, the agency has said that flights between the two countries can now resume.
Flights between the US and Northern Haiti allowed
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has revised its ban on flights to Haiti and said that airlines can fly to six airports in the northern region of the Caribbean country. However, flights to Haiti’s main airport serving its capital, Port-au-Prince, are still banned.
Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock
According to a report by Reuters, airports in the following six cities in the country are now allowed to receive services from US carriers:
- Port-de-Paix
- Cap-Haitien
- Pignon
- Jeremie
- Antoine-Simon
- Jacmel
Three US aircraft hit by bullets
The FAA had banned all US airlines from operating to Haiti on November 12 after a series of incidents involved US-registered commercial aircraft being hit by bullets in the country.
Spirit Airlines aircraft
On November 12, a Spirit Airlines Airbus A320neo flying from Fort Lauderdale
was targeted with gunshots as it approached Port-Au-Prince
. The incident took the crew by total surprise and the pilots decided to divert to the Dominican Republic.
During the incident, one of the flight attendants got injured and was evaluated by medical personnel upon landing. When the aircraft was examined, there were several bullet holes found on its underside, in the cabin near a door, and on the overhead bins.
Photo: MKPhoto12 | Shutterstock
Spirit Airlines took the plane out of service, which meant that passengers had to be accommodated on a different aircraft. The flight that was supposed to operate back to Fort Lauderdale was eventually canceled, and Spirit decided to suspend all flights to Port-au-Prince. It has not been announced when the carrier will resume service to the airport again.
American Airlines aircraft
American Airlines had a nonstop service between its hub in Miami and Port-au-Prince but had to suspend it after the carrier also reported
one of its planes, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, being hit by bullets
.
Photo: ajuangon | Shutterstock
The airline said that a “post-flight inspection” revealed bullet damage to the plane, resulting in the cancelation of all flights on this route for the next three months. The airline stated,
“On Monday, Nov. 11, American Airlines flight 189 from Toussaint Louverture International Airport (PAP) to Miami International Airport (MIA) landed safely and uneventfully in Miami. Out of an abundance of caution, a post-flight inspection was completed, indicating the exterior of the aircraft had been impacted by a bullet. We are working closely with all relevant authorities to investigate this incident.”
American Airlines resumed Miami-Haiti flights in May after a period of violence in the country that also led to many evacuation flights to bring back US citizens. However, recent incidents have once again halted the service.
JetBlue aircraft
Around the same time, JetBlue
had also reported that one of its aircraft, operating Flight 935 from Haiti to New York was struck by gunfire. Thankfully, the plane had no issues and landed safely.
Photo: Kevin Hackert | Shutterstock
While the Federal Aviation Administration has lifted the ban on some airports in Haiti, it remains to be seen when US airlines will resume service to the country.