(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – NEWS UPDATE: The Federal Administration Aviation (FAA) has extended its ban on U.S. flights to Haiti’s capital due to its highly volatile security environment, leaving Americans with few safe options to enter or exit.
In its most recent update on the security situation in Haiti, aviation risk-management firm Osprey Flight Solutions noted that several gang attacks in the capital have increased security risks.
The company’s data indicate that the security environment in Haiti has been deteriorating net gradually since September 2022.
“The security environment in Port-au-Prince and its surroundings continues to be highly volatile,” the firm said in a report.
“There are high rates of crime, including violent criminal activity, in the surrounding urban areas of Port-au-Prince airport that could affect flight crews while transiting.”
Commercial jets have been fired upon by gangs that now control large portions of Port-au-Prince and beyond.
According to the FAA, the flight ban was first implemented in November after three U.S. commercial airlines were fired upon while flying over Port-au-Prince’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport.
The extended prohibition affects both the capital and the island of La Gonave, though U.S. aircraft are permitted to fly over the airspace at altitudes above 10,000 feet without landing.
Moreover, the FAA made it clear that gangs pose a significant threat to aircraft, especially during takeoff and landing when planes are most vulnerable.
“Possess small arms, including high-caliber rifles and machine guns, posing risks primarily to aircraft on the ground, during low-altitude flight operations and during the approach/departure phases of flight,” the federal agency stated.
Major U.S. carriers have responded by suspending service indefinitely. JetBlue Airways has extended its flight suspension until at least June, while American Airlines and Spirit Airlines have given no timeline for resuming operations.
In the meantime, Americans and other travelers needing to enter or leave Haiti now face dangerous alternatives.
They must either use the smaller international airport in Cap-Haïtien and risk traveling through gang-controlled territories or pay premium prices for private helicopter transport.
Although the ban does not affect U.S.-registered aircraft operated by foreign carriers, allowing Sunrise Airways to continue some direct flights between Haiti and Miami using a U.S. charter company, these options remain limited and expensive.
The humanitarian situation on the ground continues to deteriorate as gangs expand their control.
Over one million Haitians have been displaced, facing hunger and violence in makeshift camps. Armed gangs commit widespread murders, rapes, and arson, often recruiting children into their ranks with impunity.
Despite efforts by Haiti’s national police and a U.N.-backed Kenya-led multinational police force, security experts remain pessimistic.
Haiti’s police force is woefully understaffed, with only 9,000 to 10,000 officers for a population of 11 million.
U.N. human rights expert William O’Neill has called for increasing the multinational force to 2,500 well-equipped officers with enhanced mobility, better vehicles, night vision goggles, and body armor.
The situation highlights the ongoing instability at America’s borders, with ripple effects directly impacting U.S. citizens’ freedom to travel safely.
As gangs continue to expand their control with sophisticated weapons, the prospects for resuming normal air travel to Haiti’s capital remain bleak for the foreseeable future.
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