PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haiti’s main international airport has reopened to commercial flights as of Wednesday, after being closed for a month due to escalating gang violence. This closure marked the second time in 2024 that the airport was shut down because of safety concerns. Haitian soldiers, police forces, and Kenyan police, who are part of a UN-backed mission aimed at combating the gangs, have been deployed to enhance security in the area. A test flight was successfully carried out, signaling that conditions have improved enough to resume regular international air traffic.
“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 International Airport in Port-au-Prince had been closed since mid-November following a violent incident where gangs opened fire on a Spirit Airlines flight preparing to land, injuring a flight attendant. Other commercial planes were also struck by gunfire that day, leading Spirit, JetBlue, and American Airlines to cancel their flights to Haiti. In response, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed a 30-day ban on U.S. airlines flying to Haiti, which remains in effect until Thursday.
Although the airport reopened on Wednesday, it was unclear which flights would resume to Port-au-Prince, as Spirit Airlines announced its flights to both Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien would remain suspended “until further notice.” Spokespersons for JetBlue and American Airlines had not yet responded to inquiries about their plans. Additionally, the Guy Malary terminal, which handles domestic flights, also resumed operations on Wednesday.
For the past month, the only international airport operating in Haiti was in Cap-Haitien, a coastal town in the north. However, traveling there by land has been extremely dangerous, as gangs control the main roads out of Port-au-Prince and often open fire on public transport. As a result, those who could afford it resorted to paying thousands of dollars for private air transport to reach Cap-Haitien.
This situation follows a nearly three-month closure earlier this year of the Port-au-Prince airport, which had been shut down after gangs launched coordinated attacks on key government infrastructure starting in late February.
Haiti has been in the grip of intense gang violence, with over 5,000 people reported killed this year. Among the most horrific incidents was a massacre in a gang-controlled area of Port-au-Prince, which left over 180 people dead.
