FAA suspends U.S. flights to Haiti after shooting incidents

United States.- The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has banned all commercial flights to Haiti for the next 30 days after two American airlines, Spirit and JetBlue, were targeted in shooting attacks near Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince. The FAA cited “continued security instability” amid Haiti’s ongoing social and political crisis as the reason for the suspension.

The decision followed incidents on Monday when a Spirit Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale was fired upon while approaching the airport in Port-au-Prince. The attack resulted in minor injuries to one crew member and forced the plane to divert to the Dominican Republic. In response, Spirit suspended flights to Haiti until December, as did American Airlines and JetBlue.

JetBlue reported that one of its flights to New York had also been shot at shortly after taking off from Port-au-Prince, though no injuries were reported. A post-flight inspection later revealed that a bullet had struck the aircraft’s exterior.