American planes hit by bullets in Haiti!
Miami, US, Nov 12 (EFE).-
Two jets from American airlines have been struck by bullets over the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince as gang violence ramped up in the Caribbean country on Tuesday.
JetBlue reported that one of its planes was shot at after taking off from the Port-au-Prince airport bound for New York and a Spirit Airlines flight was also hit by gunfire while trying to land in the Haitian capital, both on Monday.
JetBlue Flight 935 landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport with no apparent problem, the airline said.
“While no issues were initially reported by the operating crew, a post-flight inspection later identified that the aircraft’s exterior had been struck by a bullet,” JetBlue said in a statement.
It added that it was “actively investigating this incident in collaboration with relevant authorities.”
The company suspended its flights to Haiti until Dec. 2, a measure that has also been taken by Spirit Airlines and American Airlines.
Also on Monday, a Spirit Airlines flight from Florida was hit by gunfire as it attempted to land in Port-au-Prince and the plane was diverted to the Dominican Republic. A flight attendant was injured in the incident.
Haiti’s main airport Toussaint Louverture International in Port-au-Prince was closed on Monday due to the intensification of violence by gangs that control the metropolitan area of the capital, coinciding with the appointment of a new prime minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aime, by the Presidential Transitional Council, which dismissed Garry Conille.
The Haitian civil aviation authority said air traffic operations were temporarily suspended from 2 pm local time Monday, and is expected to end next Monday, Nov. 18.
“Port-au-Prince again isolated from the rest of the world due to gang violence,” read a headline in the Haitian daily “Le Nouvelliste” Tuesday.
Toussaint Louverture was closed to commercial traffic between February and May after armed gangs increased their acts of violence against the population, institutions, businesses and took over two densely populated prisons from which thousands of inmates escaped.
The terminal has long been a target of armed groups, which, according to a United Nations report, have caused the deaths of 4,900 people in the first nine months of this year.
The US embassy in Haiti said in an alert that it was “aware of gang-led efforts to block travel to and from Port-au-Prince which may include armed violence, and disruptions to roads, ports, and airports.”
“The security situation in Haiti is unpredictable and dangerous. Travel within Haiti is conducted at your own risk,” it said, adding “do not travel to Haiti.”
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres urged all political, economic and social forces in Haiti on Monday to overcome their differences, put the country first and work together constructively to advance the political transition.
The Multinational Security Support Mission (MMSS), led by Kenya, reaffirmed in a statement its commitment to support security and stability in Haiti. EFE
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