FAA grounds all US flights to Haiti after three planes were struck by gunfire

By Caitlin Stephen Hu, Michael Rios, Avery Schmitz, Ivana Kottasová, Alexandra Skores and Pete Muntean, CNN

(CNN) — The United States civil aviation regulator has grounded all flights to Haiti for a month, after three jets from US-based airlines were struck by bullets while flying over Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, amid escalating gang violence.

A Spirit Airlines plane was hit by gunfire while attempting to land in Port-au-Prince on Monday, resulting in what the airline described as “minor injuries” to one crew member. Later, JetBlue said a post-flight inspection in New York found damage from a bullet on one of its planes returning from Haiti. An American Airlines flight from Haiti’s main airport was also hit by gunfire, according to the airline and a pilot union memo obtained by CNN.

Haitian authorities have already suspended flights in and out of Port-au-Prince for a week. On Tuesday, the US’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a notice prohibiting US civil aviation operations in Haiti below 10,000 feet, for 30 days.

The United Nations announced Tuesday that its flights were also being grounded. “You will have seen that following a Spirit Airlines was shot at on its final approach at the airport in Port-au-Prince, the airport has now been closed until 18 November,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a Tuesday briefing.

“As a result, all UN flights have been suspended, obviously limiting the flow of humanitarian aid and humanitarian personnel into the country,” he said, adding that the movement of more than a dozen trucks containing critical food and medical supplies to Haiti’s south was also postponed.

Haiti’s transitional council blamed armed gangs for the gunfire that struck the Spirit flight and pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice, accusing them of aiming “to isolate our country on the international stage.”

Haiti has been ridden with widespread gang activity and political chaos for nearly a year, with international actors also impacted by direct violence in recent weeks. Last month, a United Nations helicopter was also hit by bullets while flying over Port-au-Prince. And in a separate incident in October, gangs targeted US Embassy vehicles with gunfire, later prompting the evacuation of 20 embassy staffers.

In late February and early March, coordinated gang attacks forced the closure of both the airport and main seaport in the Haitian capital, choking off vital supplies of food and humanitarian aid to the Caribbean nation.

‘Consistent with gunfire’

On Monday, Spirit said its Flight 951 from Fort Lauderdale in Florida to Port-au-Prince was diverted and landed in Santiago in the Dominican Republic, where “an inspection revealed evidence of damage to the aircraft consistent with gunfire.”

The aircraft has been taken out of service, and Spirit services to Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien have been suspended, the airline said.

In response to the Spirit incident, US-based carriers JetBlue and American Airlines temporarily canceled flights to and from Haiti. In a later statement, JetBlue extended its flight suspension through December 2, saying damage from a bullet had been identified in one of its planes returning from Haiti.

JetBlue Flight 935 landed at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport without any issues originally reported, but a post-flight inspection later identified that the aircraft’s exterior had been struck by a bullet, the airline said.

“We are actively investigating this incident in collaboration with relevant authorities,” JetBlue said, citing “the going civil unrest” for its decision to suspend flights.

And American Airlines said Tuesday it would suspend daily service between Miami and Port-au-Prince through February 12 after it discovered one of its planes was also hit by gunfire. The airline said it inspected flight 819 from Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince after it landed in Miami on Monday. Nobody on board was hurt.

New prime minister

The incidents came the same day Haiti’s transitional council swore in a new prime minister, businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aime, who pledged to restore democracy and security in the country.

Fils-Aimé was formally sworn in as Haiti’s new prime minister on Monday in a ceremony attended by various government officials in Port-au-Prince.

“We are in a transition, an immense project. Of course, the essential first project — and one necessary to the success of the transition — is the reestablishment of security!” Fils-Aimé declared at the ceremony, drawing applause from those in attendance.

The transitional council tapped Fils-Aimé for the job after eight of its nine voting members signed a declaration on November 8 to replace Garry Conille, who had been in office for less than a year. Copies of the signed declaration were leaked over the weekend and published on the country’s official gazette early Monday.

In a statement shared with CNN on Sunday, council member Fritz Jean said the council reached its decision after considering several issues with Conille’s tenure as prime minister. Among them, Jean said Conille had made decisions without informing the council and took on the duties of the president, such as engaging in diplomatic affairs.

The United States has said it looks forward to working with Fils-Aimé and the council. But State Department spokesman Matthew Miller also cautioned that Haiti’s transitional government should prioritize governance over the “competing personal interests of political actors.”

Conille on Tuesday acknowledged the appointment of Fils-Aimé and wished him success. “In this crucial moment, unity and solidarity are essential for our country. Long live Haiti!” he wrote on X.

Conille’s predecessor Ariel Henry stepped down earlier this year amid spiraling gang violence.

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CNN’s Richard Roth contributed reporting.