Main international airport in Haiti’s capital closes after bullets hit Spirit flight and plane is diverted to Dominican Republic.
Haiti has sworn in a new prime minister, hours after a flight from the United States was hit by gunfire as it made its final approach to the capital Port-au-Prince.
Alix Didier Fils-Aime was formally appointed on Monday by a presidential council after it fired the Caribbean nation’s interim prime minister, Garry Conille.
The new prime minister said during the swearing-in ceremony that his first step was to restore security across Haiti.
“I pledge – in front of you, members of the presidential council and the entire nation – to put my energy, my skills and my patriotism at the service of the national cause,” Fils-Aime said in French.
The new prime minister has little political experience but is the well-connected owner of a dry-cleaning chain and sits on the board of a local bank.
His appointment comes as Haiti has been going through political turmoil since the 2021 assassination of its then-president, Jovenel Moise, and a dire security situation, with armed groups controlling large areas of the country.
That was underscored by the shooting at the Spirit Airlines flight and the subsequent closure of Port-au-Prince airport to all commercial flights on Monday – the second time it has been shuttered this year.
A spokesman for Spirit Airlines confirmed that Monday’s flight 951 from Fort Lauderdale in South Florida was diverted and landed safely in Santiago, the capital of the neighbouring Dominican Republic.
After the flight’s arrival, “an inspection revealed evidence of damage to the aircraft consistent with gunfire,” Spirit spokesman Tommy Fletcher said.
“One flight attendant on board reported minor injuries and is being evaluated by medical personnel. No guest injuries were reported,” he added.
Photographs and a video obtained by Al Jazeera appeared to show several bullet holes in the interior of the plane, an Airbus A321, including the overhead luggage compartments.
As a result, Fletcher said, Spirit suspended its service to Port-au-Prince and Haiti’s second largest city, Cap-Haitien, “pending further evaluation”.
American Airlines also announced it was suspending its daily service to Port-au-Prince until November 14.
Local officials confirmed that Port-au-Prince airport was subsequently closed indefinitely to all commercial flights.
Prime Minister Conille sacked
Haiti is mired in a deepening humanitarian crisis due to years of gang violence that have forced more than 700,000 people from their homes and deepened already devastating poverty and hunger.
An escalating gang war in the country has killed almost 4,000 people this year, according to the United Nations.
Conille’s government had been desperately trying to restore a semblance of law and order with the help of the international community and a UN-backed security force led by 400 Kenyan police officers.
Haiti’s nine-member Presidential Transition Council, which is tasked with restoring democracy in the political vacuum left by the 2021 assassination of Moise, has been marred by infighting and allegations of corruption.
That reached boiling point in the last few days as a majority of the council lost confidence in Conille, claiming he had failed to make enough progress while ignoring their advice and following the wishes of the international community.
Conille, a former UN executive, was appointed six months ago with the backing of the international community, led by Canada, France, the United States and the CARICOM group of Caribbean nations.
Monday’s airport shooting was the second time in the past month that an aircraft travelling over Port-au-Prince was struck by suspected gang gunfire. In October, a UN helicopter with 18 people on board was hit. No one was injured, and the flight was able to land safely.
The US Embassy in Haiti was also forced to evacuate some of its nonessential diplomatic staff after gunmen targeted two of its vehicles. No personnel were injured.
