The Haitian capital’s international airport reopened Monday, May 20, for commercial flights, two and a half months after having had to close its doors due to gang violence.
Only one Haitian company, Sunrise Airways, has so far announced that it has resumed its connections between Miami and Port-au-Prince. A flight departing for Florida left Toussaint-Louverture airport in the afternoon, Sunrise Airways said, this is the first since the closure. Sunrise Airways said flights were currently scheduled every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
The American company American Airlines, for its part, explained that its flights remained suspended for the moment until May 29, due to “the civil unrest in Port-au-Prince.” “We will continue to monitor the situation with safety in mind and adjust our operations as necessary,” the company said.
Police officers deployed shortly
Toussaint-Louverture Airport has been closed to commercial flights since the beginning of March, following coordinated gang attacks at the end of February who said they were seeking to overthrow then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
The latter, who has since resigned, was unable to return to his country after a trip to Kenya, due to insecurity around the airport. A transitional presidential council, which must appoint an interim prime minister, has since held the reins of the country.
Kenya is due to shortly deploy police officers to Haiti as part of a UN-backed multinational mission to help the country combat gang violence, which controls most of the capital. An official Haitian source said that senior Kenyan officers had already arrived in Haiti for a reconnaissance mission.
A first contingent of Kenyan troops could be deployed this week, coinciding with a state visit by Kenyan President William Ruto to Washington.
