Spirit Airlines flight hit by gunfire while approaching Haiti’s Port-au-Prince
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A Spirit Airlines flight seen on Feb 8. The US airline said it had suspended flights to Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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PORT-AU-PRINCE – A Spirit Airlines flight destined for the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince was struck by gunfire on Nov 11, forcing it to be diverted to the neighbouring Dominican Republic.
The US airline said in a statement that the plane had been damaged and taken out of commission upon landing in the northern Dominican city of Santiago.
A flight attendant was injured in the incident, the airline said. The Miami Herald had reported that the attendant was grazed by a bullet.
No passengers were injured, Spirit added.
A video circulating on social media, which appears to have been taken by a Spirit employee but which Reuters was unable to immediately verify, shows where a bullet had come through near the back exit door to then strike the overhead bin across the aisle.
All flights in and out of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince have been halted, the US embassy to the Caribbean nation said in a travel advisory.
The embassy “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”, it said.
Spirit said it had suspended flights to Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien, in Haiti’s north, “pending further evaluation”.
JetBlue and American Airlines will cancel flights until the end of Nov 14, they said separately, and will monitor to determine whether more cancellations may be needed.
The passengers aboard the Spirit flight on Nov 11 will be taken back in another aircraft to Fort Lauderdale, where the flight departed from, Spirit said.
Armed gangs in Haiti’s capital have shot at aircraft in recent weeks as the security situation deteriorates. In October, a UN helicopter was hit by gunfire over Port-au-Prince. REUTERS
