American Airlines has decided to extend its flight suspension to Haiti indefinitely, putting on hold plans to resume service to the capital, Port-au-Prince, in mid-February.
The decision to suspend flights to Haiti came after three US planes, including an American Airlines jet, were hit by bullets while taking or landing from the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince.
Within the space of just a few hours, a Spirit Airlines and JetBlue plane were also struck by bullets fired by heavily armed criminal gangs who have taken over parts of the Haitian capital.
In the Spirit Airlines incident on November 11, a flight attendant was injured as several bullets penetrated the cabin and lodged themselves in the sidewall and overhead bins as the Airbus A320 aircraft was on final approach for landing.
The pilots quickly abandoned the landing and diverted the plane to Santiago in the neighboring Dominican Republic where the aircraft had to be grounded for repairs.
On the same day, an American Airlines flight from Port-au-Prince to Miami was struck by gunfire shortly after takeoff. The crew and passengers were not, however, aware of what had occurred and the damage was only discovered after an extensive post-flight inspection.
A JetBlue flight to New York JFK was also hit by a bullet as it departed Haiti on November 11, and, again, the damage was only discovered after a post-flight inspection, prompted by what had occurred to the Spirit Airlines plane.
In the aftermath of the attacks, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initially banned US carriers from flying any lower than 10,000 feet over Haiti. The Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) was, though, later lifted.
All civilian flights to and from Toussaint Louverture International Airport have, however, been suspended since December 4. The ban is expected to remain in force until at least next Tuesday as government forces work to stabilize the security situation.
A spokesperson for American Airlines now says it will evaluate a possible resumption for flights to Haiti in late 2025. The carrier was the only airline serving Haiti from Miami and one of only three US carriers to still fly to the troubled island territory.
“American has made the difficult decision to suspend daily service between Miami (MIA) and Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP),” a statement from the airline read. “We are proud of our more than 50-year-commitment to Haiti and we will continue to monitor the situation, assessing safety, security, and customer demand, in evaluating a return of service.”
The statement added: “We will proactively reach out to impacted customers to offer a full refund of their travel itinerary.”
Neither Spirit nor JetBlue have said when they might resume flights to Haiti.
