NewsWorld News

Actions

FAA grounds US flights to Haiti after gunfire strikes Spirit Airlines aircraft

On Tuesday the FAA issued a temporary ban on "all U.S. air carriers and commercial operators" that serve Haiti.
Haiti Violence
Posted

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has placed a 30-day prohibition on flights from the U.S. to Haiti after gangs in Haiti shot at a Spirit Airlines flight that was preparing to land in the capital Port-au-Prince.

The gunfire injured a flight attendant on the plane, company officials said.

On Tuesday the FAA issued a temporary ban on "all U.S. air carriers and commercial operators," prohibiting them from flights to Haiti or its airspace "due to safety-of-flight risks associated with ongoing security instability."

Haiti has suspended flights in and out of Port-au-Prince for a week.

The United Nations also suspended aid flights into the capital following the shooting, which is expected to narrow an important avenue for humanitarian aid. U.N. flights will now land at an airport in Cap Haïtien.

RELATED STORY | Spirit flight attendant injured after gunfire hits plane, airline says

The gunfire came as fresh violence gripped the capital, where armed gangs are estimated to control some 85% of territory. Government offices and schools were closed on Tuesday and police patrolled near the airport, checking transit vehicles.

Luis Abinader, president of the Dominican Republic, which borders Haiti, called the shooting a "terrorist act."

"The countries that are following and helping Haiti should declare these armed gangs as terrorist groups," he said at a news conference.

Haiti normally receives flights from U.S. carriers Spirit, JetBlue and American Airlines.

,

Weather

Daily Forecast

View Hourly Forecast

Day

Conditions

HI / LO

Precip

Saturday

04/19/2025

Clear

-° / 54°

1%

Sunday

04/20/2025

Mostly Clear

85° / 57°

1%

Monday

04/21/2025

Clear

87° / 57°

0%

Tuesday

04/22/2025

Mostly Clear

88° / 59°

0%

Wednesday

04/23/2025

Mostly Clear

86° / 55°

0%

Thursday

04/24/2025

Partly Cloudy

80° / 52°

2%

Friday

04/25/2025

Mostly Clear

74° / 52°

5%

Saturday

04/26/2025

Clear

73° / 51°

4%