Airlines suspend flights as Spirit plane hit by gunfire

Airlines have begun suspending flights to Haiti after a Spirit Airline plane from the US was hit by gunfire as it tried to land in Port-au-Prince.

Flight 951, from Fort Lauderdale in Florida was diverted to the neighbouring Dominican Republic where it landed safely at Santiago Airport.

A flight attendant had suffered minor injuries, the airline said in a statement. It said no passengers were injured.

It is the second time in three weeks where aircraft have been shot at over the Haitian capital.

Haiti is in the grips of a deep political crisis where armed gangs have taken control of large parts of the country.

The Spirit Airlines flight had been scheduled to land at Port-au-Prince’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport on Monday just before midday local time when it was hit.

Unverified video of the incident shared on social media appeared to show several bullet holes on the inside of the aircraft, where the crew sit during take-off and landing.

Spirit Airlines said the plane was inspected at Santiago Airport, and the damage was “consistent with gunfire”. It has taken the plane out of commission.

The airline said it had also suspended flights to Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien in Haiti’s north “pending further evaluation”.

Other US airlines American Airlines and Jetblue have also suspended their flights to Haiti until Thursday.

The security situation has further deteriorated in Haiti in recent months. In October, gang members opened fire at a UN helicopter, causing some airlines to temporarily cancel flights to the Caribbean nation.

A UN-backed policing mission, led by officers from Kenya, had begun in June in an attempt to wrest back control from gangs.

Also on Monday, a new prime minister was installed by the country’s ruling council, after the previous leader, Garry Conille, was ousted less than six months into the job.

Spirit is a low-cost airline, based in Florida, which flies throughout the United States, Caribbean and Latin America.