US airlines struck by gunfire over Haiti

By Caitlin Stephen Hu, Michael Rios, Avery Schmitz and Ivana Kottasová, CNN

(CNN) — Two jets from US-based airlines were struck by bullets on Monday while flying over Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince as Haitian authorities suspended all flights in and out of the capital amid escalating gang violence.

A Spirit Airlines plane was hit by gunfire while attempting to land in Port-au-Prince, resulting in what the airline described as “minor injuries” to one crew member.

Spirit said Monday that 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.

Later Monday, the Haitian civil aviation authority shared a warning to flight personnel, saying “air traffic operations are temporarily suspended” at the airport. The notice, known as a notice to airmen (NOTAM), went into effect at 2:00 p.m. local time Monday and is expected to end next Monday, November 18.

In response to the Spirit incident, US-based carriers JetBlue and American Airlines temporarily cancelled 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.

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.

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.

New prime minister

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.

Conille has not yet publicly commented on the resolution. CNN has reached out to the prime minister’s office for comment.

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

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