Photo credit: New York Post
Haiti swore in a new prime minister on Monday after a Spirit Airlines plane was hit by gunfire over the country’s capital Port-au-Prince, according to a diplomatic source in the country.
CNN reports that the incident resulted in what the airline described as “minor injuries” to one of its crew members. All flights to Port-au-Prince’s Toussaint Louverture International airport have been suspended until November 18, according to the country’s civil aviation authority.
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. An inspection “revealed evidence of damage to the aircraft consistent with gunfire.”
According to the airline, one of its flight attendants reported minor injuries and was being evaluated by medical personnel. It added that the aircraft has been taken to out of service, and Spirit services to Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitian have been suspended.
Data reviewed by CNN from FlightRadar24 showed the plane descending to an altitude of 550 feet over Port-au-Price’s Tabarre neighborhood before pulling up
quickly and bypassing the runway.
The country’s civil aviation authority shared a warning to flight personnel later on Monday saying “air traffic operations are temporarily suspended” at the airport. Known as a notice to airmen (NOTAM), the notice went into effect at 2.00 pm local time Monday and is expected to end next Monday.
The Haitian-based commercial airline Sunrise airways told CNN that it has suspended flights until further notice. US-based carriers JetBlue and American airlines have also cancelled flights to and from Haiti until Thursday.
The incident comes amid escalating turmoil after a vote by Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council to replace Prime Minister Garry Conille after les than half a year in office. a businessman, Alix Didier Fils-Aime was formally sworn in as the country’s new prime minister on Monday.
Pledging to restore democracy and security across the country, the new prime minister said, “we are in a transition, an immediate project. Of course, the essential first project – and one necessary to the success of the transition – is the reestablishment of security!”
