Armed gangs in Haiti opened fire on a Spirit Airlines flight from Florida to the capital Port-au-Prince on Monday. The plane was subsequently forced to land in the city of Santiago in the Dominican Republic. The main airport in Haiti had to be temporarily closed on Monday. It is reported by TASR based on reports from the AP, AFP and Reuters agencies.
The US Embassy in Haiti has issued a travel warning stating that the city’s airport was closed due to “gang efforts to block travel to and from Port-au-Prince, which may involve armed violence”. One flight attendant was injured in the incident, the airline announced. She added that the passengers would be transported back to Florida on a different plane than the one on machine damaged and taken out of service.
Spirit Airlines has suspended flights to Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien in the north of the country. It was joined by JetBlue, which canceled flights to Haiti until Thursday. In October, gangs also attacked a marked UN helicopter with 18 people on board while flying over Port-au-Prince. No one was injured during the attack and the helicopter eventually landed safely.
