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  • December 12, 2024
The FAA bans US flights to Haiti for 30 days after planes are hit by gunfire

The FAA bans US flights to Haiti for 30 days after planes are hit by gunfire

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The Federal Aviation Administration has banned U.S. flights to Haiti for 30 days in the wake of Monday’s gunfire incidents, according to a Notice to Air Mission issued Tuesday.

According to the FAA, “U.S. civil aviation operations in the territory and airspace of Haiti below 35,000 feet” will be prohibited.

The move comes after a Spirit Airlines plane flying from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Haiti was diverted after it was struck by gunfire while trying to land in Port-au-Prince, according to the Haitian National Bureau of Civil Aviation .

SEE ALSO: Spirit Airlines and JetBlue planes hit by gunfire in Haiti

The plane was hit four times by gunfire as it tried to land at Touissant Louverture airport in the capital Port-au-Prince, OFNAC said.

The Spirit Airlines plane “perished and landed safely in Santiago, Dominican Republic,” Spirit Airlines said in a statement Monday, adding that no passengers reported injuries and that one flight attendant on board the plane suffered unspecified “minor injuries” reported and underwent medical evaluation.

According to data from FlightRadar24, the plane came within 170 meters of the runway before aborting the landing and diverting to the Dominican Republic.

The FAA confirmed in a statement Monday that the Spirit Airlines flight landed safely in the Dominican Republic “after the aircraft was reportedly damaged by gunfire while attempting to land” at the Port-au-Prince airport.

A JetBlue flight from Haiti to New York City was also struck by a bullet on Monday, the airline said in a statement to ABC News. JetBlue said it would suspend all flights to and from Haiti through Dec. 2 due to civil unrest in the country.

ABC News’ Aicha El Hammar Castano contributed to this report.

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