Haiti's main international airport reopens a month after gang violence forced it to close

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti's main international airport reopened on Wednesday to commercial flights, one month after it closed for the second time this year because of gang violence.

Haitian soldiers and police, bolstered by Kenyan police leading a UN-backed mission to quell gang violence, boosted security in the area, and a test flight was successful, Haiti's government said in a statement.

"The resumption of commercial flights marks a turning point for the Haitian economy. It restores essential connectivity for international trade, encourages investment, and supports key sectors such as trade, tourism and entrepreneurship," the prime minister's office said.

However, there were no flights and no passengers as of Wednesday morning, with heavily armed police setting up checkpoints by the airport as they stopped public transport.

The Toussaint Louverture airport in Port-au-Prince closed in mid-November after gangs opened fire on a Spirit Airlines flight that was preparing to land, striking a flight attendant who suffered minor injuries.

Other commercial planes were also hit that day, prompting Spirit, JetBlue and American Airlines to cancel their flights to Haiti. A day later, the Federal Aviation Administration banned US airlines from flying to the Caribbean country for 30 days.

It wasn't immediately clear which flights would resume on Wednesday to Port-au-Prince. The FAA's ban is in place until Thursday. A spokesman for Spirit said its flights to Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien, where Haiti's other international airport is located, are suspended "until further notice." Spokespeople for JetBlue and American Airlines did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

The Guy Malary terminal, which serves domestic flights, also reopened on Wednesday.

For the past month, the only international airport operating in Haiti was the one in the northern coastal town of Cap-Haitien, but travelling there by land is dangerous since gangs control the main roads leading out of Port-au-Prince and are known for opening fire on public transport.

The few who could afford to escape the surge of gang violence in the capital this past month paid thousands of dollars for private air transport to Cap-Haitien.

The violence, coupled with alleged threats and aggression from Haiti's National Police, had forced Doctors Without Borders to suspend activities for the first time in its history in the Caribbean country in late November. The aid group announced Wednesday that it had partially resumed activities in Port-au-Prince. However, transportation of patients has not restarted, and one of its hospitals remains closed.

The airport in Port-au-Prince had closed for nearly three months earlier this year after gangs launched coordinated attacks on key government infrastructure starting in late February.

Some 5,000 people have been reported killed in Haiti this year, including more than 100 in a recent massacre in a gang-controlled community in Port-au-Prince.

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