Two US airlines suspend flights to Haiti due to a spike in violence

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) – JetBlue and Spirit Airlines have suspended flights to Haiti this week, sources at Port-au-Prince International Airport say, as a new spike in gang violence ravages the struggling Caribbean country.

Both US airlines have canceled flights between Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Port-au-Prince, although JetBlue has maintained its direct flight from New York City.

Neither airline has publicly stated why the flights were suspended, although Haiti has recently seen a spike in gang violence in several neighborhoods of the capital and other areas.

A U.N. report released Wednesday found that more than 10,000 people have been displaced due to attacks over the past week around the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.

Haiti has been plagued by mounting political, humanitarian and security crises for years, but the situation spiraled earlier this year when powerful armed gangs launched coordinated attacks, eventually forcing the country’s unelected prime minister to resign.

Since then, an interim government has been appointed and a Kenyan-led international support mission has been launched to shore up Haiti’s police force, although it has not yet reached its intended size.

Police are struggling to regain control of large parts of the capital from gangs as violence continues to rise.

Earlier this week, attacks in the capital’s southern Solino district sent thousands of people fleeing, killing at least two women, one of whom was eight months pregnant, officials said.

The new violence followed a major gang attack in early October in the central city of Pont-Sonde, which killed 115 civilians and injured dozens.

The US embassy also reported this week that two of its armored vehicles had been shot at by gangs, although no injuries were reported.

And on Thursday, a helicopter from the World Food Program (WFP), a UN agency, was hit by gunfire while flying over Port-au-Prince.

It was able to land safely without injuries to any of the 18 people on board.

“Insecurity in Haiti persists, while rising violence from armed groups and food insecurity continue to push Haiti into a spiraling crisis that requires urgent attention,” Waanja Kaaria, WFP director for Haiti, said at a news conference on Friday.

According to a recent WFP report, 5.4 million Haitians – about half the population – are suffering from acute hunger.