The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had on Tuesday banned U.S. civilian flights to and from Haiti for 30 days after a Spirit Airlines airplane was hit by gunfire trying to land in Port-au-Prince a day earlier.
The FAA’s ban also prohibits U.S. flights from traveling under 10,000 feet in Haiti’s airspace.
Recall that Spirit Airlines Flight 951 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, had diverted to Santiago in the Dominican Republic at around 11:30 a.m. on Monday after it was damaged by gunfire, according to the airline.
Spirit had disclosed that one flight attendant on board “reported minor injuries” and luckily, no passenger injuries were reported.
American Airlines had said that one of its flights from Port-au-Prince to Miami was hit by gunfire on Monday and that it landed uneventfully, with no injuries reported.
“Out of an abundance of caution, a post-flight inspection was completed, indicating the exterior of the aircraft had been impacted by a bullet,” a statement by American had read.
At the time of filing this report, American has already suspended flights to the Haitian capital until February 12.
JetBlue Airways has also paused service to Haiti.
The U.S. State Department gave a statement on Monday saying that the embassy in Port-au-Prince “is aware of gang-led efforts to block travel to and from Port-au-Prince which may include armed violence, and disruptions to roads, ports, and airports.”
