Unrest In That Country Has Let To Warnings About Travel

Air Canada flight AC1815 departed Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Monday following the Government of Canada's advisory to avoid all travel to Haiti. There were 209 customers and 16 crew and support employees aboard a Boeing 767-300ER Air Canada Rouge aircraft.

The Canadian government issued a notice saying citizens should avoid all travel to Haiti due to civil unrest throughout the country. "The security situation could further deteriorate quickly. You should consider leaving by commercial means while they are available, if you can do so safely," the notice said.

"Air Canada Flight AC1815 has now departed Port-au-Prince safely and is enroute to Montreal. I thank our employees for their round-the-clock efforts to make today's flight a success, including their diligent efforts in challenging circumstances to reach out to Air Canada's as well as other airlines' customers seeking to return to Canada," said Craig Landry, Executive Vice President, Operations at Air Canada. "Our thoughts are with the Haitian people during this period of disturbance. Given the strong ties between our two countries, Air Canada has a long, proud history of serving Haiti and we intend to resume regular service as soon as it is safe to do so."

On Thursday, the U.S. State Department ordered the departure of all non-emergency U.S. personnel and their family members due to widespread, violent, and unpredictable demonstrations in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere in Haiti. The U.S. is also advising citizens to avoid travel to Haiti at this time.

Air Canada normally operates two flights weekly between Montreal and Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Mondays and Wednesdays. Following the Government of Canada's advisory to avoid all travel to Haiti, Air Canada's next scheduled flight on Wednesday to Haiti is cancelled. Air Canada is monitoring this situation closely to determine when it will be safe to resume flights.  

(Source: Air Canada news release. Image from file)

FMI: www.aircanada.com, travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/haiti-travel-advisory.html, travel.gc.ca/destinations/haiti