Haiti has welcomed an announcement by Delta Air Lines that it planned to increase the number of daily flights to the country after another US-based airline said it was reducing its flights.
Minister of Haitians Living Abroad, Guy André Junior Francois, had described the decision by American Airlines to reduce the number of daily flights from six to four “as a big loss for us”, saying it was “an opportunity for other airlines to come aboard and provide direct service to Haiti.”
Flights reduced after evaluation
American Airlines said that it had taken the decision to cut the flights following an evaluation of its services and in an August 21st letter to Renet Prévilon, the director of Customs at Toussaint Louverture International Airport, said “we informed the members of our team of our decision to put an end to the flights connecting Toussaint Louverture International Airport of Port-au-Prince to those of New York-JFK and Fort Lauderdale.
“It was a painful but necessary decision, given the economic circumstances, particularly in an environment where the cost of fuel is high. American will continue to operate three daily flights connecting Port-au-Prince to Miami, from where we offer connections to 140 destinations worldwide. In addition, we will also continue to serve Cap-Haïtien with a daily flight from our Miami Hub,” he wrote.
Delta fills void
Delta Air Lines said it plans to open three new routes and an additional daily flight to the Caribbean from New York.
Delta’s new routes will include daily non-stop flights between JFK and Kingston, Jamaica, as well as the new weekly service on Saturday to Antigua and Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
In addition, Delta is expanding its service to the Bahamas with a second daily flight between JFK and Nassau. The expanded Nassau service will be launched on October 1, and the new Kingston flights will begin operating December 20. The flights from Antigua and Haiti will be launched on December 22, 2018.
