JetBlue Airways won't be returning to Haiti in April, cites ongoing civil unrest
JetBlue Airways is extending its suspension of flights into Haiti's main international airport in Port-au-Prince. Flights will remain suspended until at least June 11, a spokesman told the Miami Herald.
The U.S. carrier operates the only direct flights between Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince and South Florida and New York. Citing Haiti's ongoing civil unrest, the airline previously announced that all of its flights into Haiti would remain suspended through at least April 30.
'Our top priority remains the safety and well-being of our customers and crew members,' the spokesman said. 'Due to the ongoing civil unrest in Haiti, we have made the decision to suspend all flights to and from the country through at least June 11, 2025. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and update our plans as necessary.'
The suspension announcement comes exactly one week before the Federal Aviation Administration ban on U.S. commercial and cargo airlines is set to expire on March 12, and on the same day that Haiti's Transitional Presidential Council announced that the domestic airport in the southwestern city of Les Cayes is now capable of receiving international flights. The runway was extended to 5,905 feet from the original 4,265.
The opening, along with the recent inauguration of a major port in Les Cayes, is being hailed as a major step forward for the development of the s\South, which remains cut off from the capital by criminal gangs that are in control of all the major highways out of Port-au-Prince.
Haitian authorities have spent weeks completing renovations on the runway at the Antoine Simon Airport in the coastal city in order \ to be able to receive international jetliners. A similar renovation effort was also done at the smaller airport in the southeastern city of Jacmel in January ahead of a visit by Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
The renovations come amid the ongoing ban of U.S. commercial flights at Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince. The airport itself remains open, having recently received deployments of foreign troops and equipment for the Kenya-led multinational security mission. But the airport has been off limits to international commercial flights since criminal gangs opened fire on three U.S. jetliners on Nov. 11 of last year. No passengers were injured, but a Spirit Airlines flight attendant was hurt. The country's local carrier, Sunrise Airways, also has yet to resume flight operations from Toussaint Louverture.
Jetblue Airways is one of three U.S. carriers that offered daily flights to Haiti before the attack by criminal gangs prompted the the FAA to issue a ban on all U.S. commercial and cargo airlines into Port-au-Prince.
In the weeks that followed, American Airlines, which flew directly out of Miami International Airport, announced the indefinite suspension of its daily service into Toussaint Louverture. Spirit Airlines, the only U.S.-based carrier that connected Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport with Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien's Hugo Chavez International Airport, also suspended all of its Haiti flight operations. The airline, according to a source, is looking to restart its Cap-Haïtien service pending an assessment by the Transportation Security Administration, which recently traveled to Haiti for a safety evaluation.
Earlier this week, Dennis Hankins, the U.S. ambassador to Haiti, met with the new director of Haiti's airport authority, Réginald Guignard, to discuss efforts to secure the perimeter of the airport. Increasing the security around the airport is a top pre-requisite for the resumption of international flights.
For now, the Cap-Haïtien international airport is the only way in and out Haiti via Sunrise Airways service into Miami, and flights being operated by airlines between Haiti and The Bahamas, and the Turk and Caicos.
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