Several airlines have suspended flights to Haiti after a passenger plane from the US was hit by gunfire as it attempted to land in Port-au-Prince.
Spirit Airlines Flight 951 from Fort Lauderdale in Florida was diverted to the neighboring Dominican Republic, where it landed safely at Santiago International Airport.
The flight attendant suffered minor injuries but no passengers were injured in the attack, the second in three weeks on a flight over the Haitian capital.
This incident happened when a new prime minister entered the country, which has been plagued by chaos, which has been attacked by armed criminals and spreading violence.
Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said that the most important thing for him is “restoring security”, according to the AFP news agency.
Despite the “difficult conditions” of the country, he promised to put all his strength, skills and “patriotism into the work of the national mission”.
This businessman, who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2015, studied at Boston University. He was appointed by the country’s governing council behind the previous leader, Garry Conillehe was fired in less than six months on the job.
The Spirit Airlines flight was scheduled to land at Toussaint Louverture International Airport shortly before 12:00 (17:00 GMT) when it crashed.
An unverified video of the incident shared on social media appeared to show several bullet holes inside the plane, where the crew was sitting during takeoff and arrival.
Spirit Airlines said damage “consistent with gunfire” was found during an inspection of the plane at Santiago airport. The plane has been taken out of service, Spirit added.
The airline said it had also suspended flights to Haiti “pending further checks”.
Two other American airlines, American Airlines and JetBlue, have also suspended flights to Haiti until at least Thursday.
The security situation in Haiti has deteriorated significantly in recent months. In October, gang members opened fire on a UN helicopter, prompting other airlines to temporarily suspend flights to the Caribbean country.
A UN-backed police force, led by Kenyan police, began in June to try to wrest control from the gangs.
Spirit is a Florida-based low-cost airline that flies throughout the US, the Caribbean and Latin America.
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