While the Caribbean nation of Haiti has a history of government instability and natural disasters like the devastating 2010 earthquake, the situation has escalated dramatically in the past year.
At the start of November planes from both Spirit Airlines (SAVE) and JetBlue Airways (JBLU) were grazed by bullets; the damage was discovered after the jets landed at Port-au-Prince’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport.
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An investigation showed that a local gang, having freed the country's largest prison last spring to recruit prisoners for a coup against Prime Minister Ariel Henry, was trying to stop foreigners from coming in as new Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé took office.
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American Air suspends Haiti service, will 'monitor situation'
The carriers initially suspended service while they and authorities evaluated the situation on the ground. A day later, the Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency ban on U.S. airlines flying into Haiti’s airspace for 30 days starting Nov. 13.
That deadline is now approaching and the situation in Haiti is showing no sign of improving. Tthe State Department continues to rate the country at Level 4, "do not travel," on its advisory list for Americans.
Now, American Airlines (AAL) has indefinitely suspended service to Haiti. Until November 2024 the airline ran a daily flight from Miami, used largely by the Haitian diaspora traveling to see family.
"American has made the difficult decision to suspend daily service between Miami (MIA) and Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP)," an airline spokesperson said in a press statement. "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 airline said it would reevaluate the flight in 2025 but did not specify a time frame for resuming service. American added that anyone who had purchased a ticket on canceled flights will get a full refund.
Related: Spirit, JetBlue and American cancel Haiti flights after planes hit by gunfire
Canceled flights and closed airport in Haiti
In addition, the United Nations has again canceled humanitarian aid flights into Haiti; it had restarted them a week after the U.S. planes were fired on in November. This further escalates a precarious situation for those struggling to get resources on the island.
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Spirit has said that its flights to Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien on the country's northern coast were "suspended until further notice." JetBlue said it was reevaluating its service out of New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL).
But even if airlines wanted to restart service, Port-au-Prince airport remains closed by the current government.
Cap-Haïtien International Airport (CAP) is the only airport that accepts some flights in and out of the country, but most airlines — including ones based in nearby Caribbean nations such as the Bahamas — have suspended service due to the precarious situation on the ground.
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