Flight Ban Was Imposed After Multiple Airlines Were Under Fire Last Year

The Federal Aviation Administration has pushed back the expiration date for the Port-au-Prince flight ban from September 8, 2025, to March 7, 2026. The restriction, originally set to last just 30 days, was implemented in November 2024 after multiple American aircraft took gunfire while attempting to land in Haiti’s capital.

The FAA order bars US civil aviation from operating below 10,000 feet in designated Haitian airspace around Port-au-Prince. Officials cited the near-total control armed gangs have over the capital and its access routes—estimates now put the figure at nearly 90 percent—as reason enough to keep passenger jets out.

These groups continue to possess small arms and even unmanned aircraft systems, making commercial flights particularly vulnerable during approach and departure. At least one suspected shooting at a low-flying aircraft has been reported since March 2025.

Haiti’s secondary gateways, on the other hand, remain open and have no documented history of aircraft being targeted. A handful of regional carriers, including Bahamasair, Caicos Express, InterCaribbean, and local operator Sunrise Airways, continue to serve Cap-Haitien (CAP) in the north and Les Cayes (CYA) in the south with turboprops and narrow-body jets. Sunrise even maintains a daily Miami connection. Still, a country of more than 11 million people is suffering the loss of its busiest airport… and it hasn't been easy.

The tension is nothing new. Haiti has been mired in escalating violence since 2020, when gang warfare began destabilizing the capital. The 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, followed by the collapse of elections in 2023, deepened the chaos. Commercial airlines continued to thread the needle until November 2024, when a Spirit A320neo being shot forced regulators’ hand. This incident left a flight attendant injured, an aircraft grounded, and three US airlines (Spirit, American, and JetBlue) with immediate halts to Port-au-Prince service.

Though almost a year has passed, the FAA is staying on defense. The Port-au-Prince ban buys time for the situation to hopefully settle, but passengers looking to get in or out must continue to rely on Cap-Haitien and regional workarounds rather than the main gate.

FMI: www.faa.gov