Airport in southwest Haiti ready for international flights after violence halts flights to capital
The Antoine Simon Airport in the coastal city of Les Cayes, named after a Haitian president who led a rebellion in the early 1900s, operated for almost two decades before renovations began in 2013 to extend its runway.
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Miami Herald
16-07-2025
- Miami Herald
New southern Haiti seaport, renovated airport spark Haitian trade mission to Miami
A new international port and an extended airport runway in Haiti's southern region are spawning hope of new trade and investment opportunities between South Florida and the Caribbean nation. That's the goal of a group of business leaders and investors from Haiti making the rounds in South Florida on Wednesday and Thursday to meet with key executives from the Port of Miami, Miami International Airport, the Beacon Council and the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. The visit comes as South Florida-based IBC Airways attempts to enter the Haitian market with charter and cargo service into the coastal city of Les Cayes. Jeff Lozama, a South Florida resident originally from Haiti's southwest area, says he's hoping the visit will yield greater connections and business opportunities for the region, which in January inaugurated the new International Port of Saint Louis du Sud and then three months later opened an extended runway at Antoine Simon Airport in the coastal city of Les Cayes. Both projects were carried out by the country's transitional government which, unable to make a dent in the crippling gang crisis, decided to focus on trying to boost the local economy of the southern region by bringing the two major infrastructure projects to fruition after years of being shelved by previous governments. In the case of the airport, which is named after a Haitian president who led a rebellion in the early 1900s, its 4,200-foot runway was finally extended to 6,000 feet after years of failed promises to accommodate some international flights. Last month, IBC Airways conducted a test flight, fueling hope that the region will be open to tourists once more. But despite reportedly having permits to conduct cargo and charter passenger flights for the southern airport, IBC has run into problems, leading the head of Haiti's National Airport Authority to take to the radio on Wednesday to refute accusations that the company was being blocked from entering the Haitian market. 'We are always ready to talk, to negotiate with anyone who comes with a permit,' Yves Ducarmel François, the director general of the airport authority, said on Port-au-Prince's Magik 9. 'We don't give permits, and whoever has permits we will accommodate them. Our job is to give people space so they can work.' François said a French firm is currently conducting a study on behalf of the airport authority to evaluate how the Antoine Simon Airport can become a true international airport capable of receiving Airbus jets carrying as many as 300 passengers. Also, the airport authority is preparing to sign an agreement with the private sector to have the airport operated as a public-private partnership. The airport currently receives about 180 passengers a day, all of whom come in on domestic flights operated by local carrier Sunrise Airways. A major challenge at the Les Cayes airport, François said, is its lack of space to accommodate international travelers. Regulations don't allow for domestic and international passengers to fly out of the same space, François said. 'The infrastructure has to respond to the norms,' he said. François said airport authority staffers were sent to Les Cayes to see how they could accommodate IBC Airways, and he's currently 'awaiting IBC so we can put the infrastructure in place' to assure passengers' safety. In the meantime, Lozama is hoping lessons can be learned from Miami-Dade County. 'We are trying to have very good business transactions … and connect our business environment with that of Miami-Dade County,' said Lozama, a member of the International Trade Consortium, which organized the visit. Lozama says he's not just hoping for trade and investments but he is also looking for an exchange of ideas as Haitians meet their Miami counterparts in maritime, logistics and airport infrastructure. Among those from Haiti expected to be part of the trade mission: Jocelin Vilier, the head of the National Port Authority; Jean Nathan Letang, the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Industry of Southern Haiti, and Cosy Joseph, an IT professional who worked in the U.S. and now heads Ideal Group S.A., which invests in agriculture and poultry farming. Joseph also sits on the board of the Chamber of Commerce of Women entrepreneurs and Professionals of Southern Haiti. Also joining the group will be experts in maritime and ports logistics, international consultancy and the head of the Collective of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Grand South. In addition to making connections, the visit will also offer opportunities to learn from Miami-Dade's experience in managing large-scale infrastructure projects and exchange ideas on development strategies in Les Cayes. Gerard Philippeaux, the executive director of the Miami-Dade International Trade Consortium, said he's confident of the mission's success. 'The Miami-Dade business community has international experience and will embrace the opportunities presented to them,' said Philippeaux. 'I applaud the members of this Haitian delegation for their fortitude in showcasing all the business and investment possibilities in existence in the southern region of Haiti.' While the Les Cayes airport is a government initiative, the port is a private venture. The vision of Pierre Leger, an agronomist and leading investor before his death in February at age 77, and Ann Hauge, an American who has been involved in Haiti for decades, the International Port of Saint Louis du Sud was finally inaugurated in January when the transitional government signed the necessary agreements to make it operational. The $6.5 million port can accommodate vessels up to 490 feet in length. Since its inauguration the southern port has received several ships including a vessel delivering cement from Panama and another with rice from Cap-Haïtien in the north. Though questions remain about the government's ability to put in place the proper security measures to prevent a possible gang incursion, the port is viewed as a positive development in a region where people are desperate for access to the outside world. On the day of the inauguration, Hauge called for support for the port in encouraging 'the economy of the Greater South to be unblocked without gangs, without insecurity.' The Great South encompasses four regional departments in Haiti: the South/ Southwest, Southeast, Grande'Anse and Nippes. According to the United Nations International Organization for Migration, the four areas are home to more than 497,000 people who have been forced to flee their homes by gangs. Unlike Port-au-Prince, which has been almost completely overtaken by armed gangs, the southern regions of Haiti remain relatively calm. Still, the gang crisis in the capital has led to the south's isolation— and a higher cost of living for residents as major roads and tourism remain cut off by the gangs. In 2021, Les Cayes and other nearby cities were struck by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 2,200 people and caused widespread destruction. Nearly four years later, the region of rolling green mountains and vast farmland still has not fully recovered.
Indianapolis Star
16-06-2025
- Indianapolis Star
Travel ban upends lives in Haiti, heightens fears for Haitian immigrants
Luckner Raymond of Haiti was just a month away from his visa appointment when he learned he would no longer be allowed to travel to Indianapolis to meet with U.S.-based colleagues at the charitable non-profit for which he runs Haitian operations. Planning the trip had been difficult. Travel logistics in Haiti are challenging with major airlines only operating in the northern part of the country. Haitian travelers who wanted to come to the States had to provide assurance at their visa appointments that they would stay no longer than allowed. But Raymond, 42, was willing to jump through all those hoops to meet with the board of Project Rouj, which he cofounded with Zionsville-based Jamalyn Williamson. The initiative aims to end the cycle of poverty in Haiti by hiring Haitians to build homes made with materials purchased within the country During his month-long trip to Indiana, Raymond planned to attend trainings and speak with donors and follow-up with another trip next February, for Project Rouj's annual plans were put on indefinite hold June 4 when President Donald Trump's administration issued a full ban on travel from the Caribbean nation, making it the only country in the Western Hemisphere with fully restricted travel. The ban took effect June 9, barring nationals from 11 other countries and heightening travel restrictions for those from seven additional countries, including Venezuela and Cuba. Williamson, who spent two years living in Fondwa, a rural community two hours from the capital, said she cried when she heard her colleague will have to remain in Haiti indefinitely. '(Raymond) has carried this organization on his back,' she said. 'And we wanted desperately to be able to see him face to face, but also to help him understand that what he's doing is making a big difference, and we trust him and we believe in what he's doing.' Raymond is just one of the countless Haitians and would-be visitors from the 18 other countries impacted by the policies. Haitians who travel to Miami or New York to do business can no longer make the trip. Those who planned to travel to the U.S. for life-saving medical care may be forced to turn instead to Haiti's dwindling hospitals, which are often understaffed and in dire need of medical supplies and fuel. The Trump administration cited high visa overstay rates and national security concerns as reasons for issuing the ban against Haiti. Haitians who currently hold visas or green cards are exempt from the ban, as well as children being adopted, people applying for visas in connection with immediate family members who are U.S. citizens and athletes competing in the World Cup or Olympics. Long before Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, became consumed by gang violence, Pastor Lucame Charles lived and worked there. As a member of the Haitian National Police, he saw firsthand how quickly the political situation was deteriorating and left the country in 2006. Six days a week, Charles drives a truck for a company that contracts with the U.S. Postal Service. His passion, however, comes from his role as a pastor at the Jesus Christ Worship Center in northwest Indianapolis, which he does without pay. The congregation sits at 400-500, he said, but Sunday attendance has slipped amid increased U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations and anti-immigrant rhetoric. 'People are afraid to go out or go to church,' Charles said. The sudden shift in the country's approach to immigration, accompanied by a litany of orders that are often challenged in court, has left immigrants in a state of limbo. Some Haitians who have legal status still fear deportation, Williamson said, unsure of their protections as new orders like the travel ban continue to be announced. "Not everyone is 100% sure what's right, what's not," she said. "You know, they're scared of ICE. They're scared of just kind of being outside." The stakes are particularly high for Haitians. Unlike immigrants from some other countries, most Haitians do not come to the U.S. for economic opportunity, Charles said. Instead they come to escape violence. In some cases, they extend their trip beyond the dates on their visas because there's nowhere safe for them to go. 'They're overstaying because they can't go home,' Exodus Refugee Immigration CEO Cole Varga said. Now even Haitians who have been granted temporary protected status, a status the U.S. government gives to those living here who cannot safely return to their home countries, face an uncertain future in the U.S. As the situation deteriorated in Haiti, former president Joe Biden extended this status for Haitians until February 2026, but Trump cancelled that extension earlier this year. TPS status for Haitians is expected to expire Aug. 3, leaving those who currently hold this status vulnerable to deportation. "Since Trump took office, it's been just an assault on all fronts for all immigrants," Varga said. The ban is yet another locked door for the thousands of people from restricted countries who just one month ago enjoyed the ability to travel freely to the U.S, immigration advocates say. For Raymond, learning he would be barred from the U.S. ahead of his travel plans left him feeling embarrassed. Raymond said he understands why the U.S. might restrict some people — such as criminals — from entering. Still, he said, he hopes the Trump administration will modify its restrictions to allow people like himself the chance to visit America.
Miami Herald
13-06-2025
- Miami Herald
Miami cargo carrier helps Haiti test new airport as domestic service resumes
Miami-based cargo carrier IBC Airways conducted a test flight Thursday to Haiti's southern coast, landing at the Antoine Simon International Airport in the southwestern port city of Les Cayes. The flight coincided with the first regular commercial domestic service into Port-au-Prince in seven months and marked the first time a U.S.-based carrier other than a private aircraft, charter or foreign registered drug running aircraft, touched down in the southern city in recent memory. In May, Haiti's transitional council inaugurated a newly renovated Les Cayes airport after extending its runway from 1,300 meters in length to 1,800 meters with a width of 25 meters in order to accommodate certain international cargo and commercial flights. The moment was significant in that it paved the way for Thursday's IBC Airways flight and possibly commercial air service from neighboring countries in the region. Haiti's has been largely isolated from the world due to its escalating gang violence, which has not only prompted countries like Canada and the United States to place it under its highest travel warning, but also made flying into Port-au-Prince dangerous. In a rare move, the government recently agreed to provide the additional insurance costs, worth of about $11 million, in order for local carrier Sunrise Airways can resume domestic flights. On Thursday, the Haitian-owned airline resumed domestic commercial service into Port-au-Prince. Some 19 passengers landed at Guy Malary terminal in the capital after boarding the flight in the northern port city of Cap-Haïtien. The airline also plans to operate flights between Port-au-Prince and Jacmel in the Southeast, and Jeremie in the Grand'Anse. READ MORE: Why airlines see Haiti in the same 'war-risk' level as areas where pilots dodge missiles For Haiti, which has some of the highest taxes on international air travel, the lack of regular commercial and cargo fights from the U.S. has only added to the economic hardship. A newly opened international route would not only be a chance to pump life into parts of the country cut off by the gang violence gripping the capital and its surrounding communities, but it offers a chance to revive tourism in places like Jacmel and Port Salut. The southern beach towns have been on life support since armed groups, four years ago, began seizing control of its National Road No. 2, which connects the South to Port-au-Prince by road. For humanitarian aid groups, a new air route would also provide an opportunity to do away with the logistical nightmare that usually accompanies the shipment of medicines and other aid into the South, which is still struggling to recover from the 2021 deadly earthquake, and is now hosting tens of thousands of gang-fleeing refugees. 'It will help restore access to essential medical supplies, humanitarian aid and economic resources—and most importantly, bring families and communities back together,' said Skyler Badenoch, chief executive officer of Hope for Haiti, a U.S. based nonprofit that provides healthcare in the South. Named after the country's 18th president, François C. Antoine, the Les Cayes airport is now Haiti's third international airport after the main facility in Port-au-Prince and the Hugo Chavez International Airport in the city of Cap-Haïtien. If Haitian authorities succeed in getting international carriers and cargo airlines to provide service, they will provide a critical gateway into a region of the country that's been shutoff. In January, members of the powerful Viv Ansanm gang coalition launched deadly attacks in Kenscoff, a lush farming community in the mountains above Port-au-Prince. In gaining a foothold in the region, they also seized control of the last open road to the South, a perilous trek through rugged terrain that allowed Haitians to access four different regions: the Southeast, Southwest, Nippes and Grand'Anse. Outside of risking one's life through the gang controlled roads where motorists are required to pay hefty tolls, the only other way to access the area or Les Cay, has been via Cap-Haïtien. The northern port city hosts the only international airport able to accept regular commercial flights from the U.S. In November, the Federal Aviation Administration banned all U.S. commercial flights, and cargo liners like IBC from landing in Port-au-Prince after armed gangs opened fire on Spirit Airlines as it prepared to land, and two other airlines, JetBlue Airways and American Airlines also later reported being struck by gunfire. All three airlines have delayed their return to the Caribbean nation while American, which has served Haiti for more than 50 years, closed its offices in Port-au-Prince and paid employees severance until December Although Haitian officials reopened the airport in December, restrictions by foreign nations against their carriers landing in Port-au-Prince have halted operations. They include restrictions by the United Kingdom, Canada, the Dominican Republic and France. On June 6, France extended its ban on carriers landing at Toussaint Louverture International Airport until at least Sept. 1. This leaves only Sunrise Airways providing a direct link between the country and the U.S. via Cap-Haïtien and Miami International Airport. In response to the resumption of domestic flights into Port-au-Prince, Osprey Flight Solutions, an aviation security firm, noted that the industry was 'repeatedly' targeted by armed gangs last year and they twice forced the closure of Toussaint Louverture International Airport. The security environment around the airport and its surrounding urban areas and Port-au-Prince in general, still remains highly volatile, the firm said in an analysis published after the government's announcement. 'Regular gang-related violence and confrontations have affected neighborhoods north and east of the airport and closed roads, including the [National Road No. 1], a main thoroughfare leading to the airport,' the security firm said in an analysis after the government and Sunrise Airways announced the restart of domestic flights into the capital. 'Throughout March, gangs launched new offensives against communes of Port-au-Prince and its surroundings, including Kenscoff, forcing local authorities to move their offices. In April, the gangs targeted locations in the Centre department, taking control of Saut d'Eau and Mirebalais. 'Of note, in the capital, it is estimated that more than 30 police stations and branches are under the control of the gangs, including in Martissant, the Bicentenaire, Portail Saint-Joseph, Portail Leogane and Cul-de-Sac, among many others,' the report said. 'The near-daily attacks have further raised concerns that gang activity may soon overwhelm the capital.'
