FAA extends Haiti flight restrictions through March 2027
Partial view of the empty main terminal at Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
jiglesias@elnuevoherald.com
The Federal Aviation Administration has extended restrictions on U.S. flights landing in Port-au-Prince for another six months, citing safety risks due to the country’s ongoing instability.
The new FAA notice took effect on Monday and runs through March 2, 2027. It bans U.S.airlines, commercial operators and most U.S. registered civilian aircraft from flying below 10,000 feet in designated areas of Haiti, including the corridor covering parts of the country around gang-plagued Port-au-Prince.
The updated FAA notice extends the restriction beyond the Port-au-Prince corridor to include two additional nautical miles further to the north to incorporate parts of central Haiti now under the control of armed gangs.
Despite the FAA’s acknowledgement of ongoing gang violence in Haiti, it has not stopped the Trump administration from deporting Haitians aboard Immigration and Customs Enforcement flights. The latest planeload landed last week, four days after armed gangs massacred dozens of people in the hills above Port-au-Prince.
On Tuesday, the new international Gang Suppression Force announced that it had begun a new phase with the deployment of troops in downtown Port-au-Prince. As the force gradually assumes responsibility for police patrols, Haitian police will be able to redeploy to support operations in Kenscoff, the international force said.
Flights above 10,000 feet are not affected by the FAA ban, although some carriers still refuse to fly over the country. That has added to the loss of revenue the country has faced since the FAA first issued the ban in November 2024, after three U.S. commercial aircraft were hit by gang gunfire while flying over Port-au-Prince: a Spirit Airlines flight approaching Toussaint Louverture International Airport, a JetBlue flight departing the capital and an American Airlines aircraft that reported being hit.
Since then, the presence of gangs in and near Port-au-Prince has continued to affect the aviation industry, even though domestic flight service has resumed.
In April, a Belgian Air Force Airbus A400M military transport reported being hit with bullets in an engine and the tail while on approach to Toussaint Louverture. According to the Belgian defense minister, there were no reported injuries and the aircraft was able to land safely.
The FAA ban doesn’t affect U.S. flights operating elsewhere in Haiti. Currently, American Airlines has announced a return to the country with daily nonstop service from Miami to Cap-Haïtien service starting on Nov. 1.
Jacqueline Charles has reported on Haiti and the English-speaking Caribbean for the Miami Herald for over a decade. A Pulitzer Prize finalist for her coverage of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, she was awarded a 2018 Maria Moors Cabot Prize — the most prestigious award for coverage of the Americas.