Travelers queue at the Sunrise Airways airline counter at Toussaint Louverture airport in Port-au-Prince, May 20, 2024 in Haiti (AFP/Clarens SIFFROY)
The Haitian capital’s international airport reopened for commercial flights on Monday, two and a half months after it was forced to close due to gang violence.
Only one Haitian company, Sunrise Airways, has so far announced that it has resumed its connections between Miami and Port-au-Prince.
A flight bound for Florida left Toussaint-Louverture airport in the afternoon, Sunrise Airways told AFP, the first since the closure.
Luggage in hand, passengers queued at the company counter during the day.
Sunrise Airways said flights were currently scheduled every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Travelers queue to board at Toussaint-Louverture airport in Port-au-Prince, May 20, 2024 in Haiti (AFP/Clarens SIFFROY)
The American company American Airlines told AFP that its flights remained suspended for the moment until May 29 due to “civil unrest in Port-au-Prince”.
“We will continue to monitor the situation with safety in mind and adjust our operations as necessary,” the company said.
Toussaint-Louverture airport has been closed to commercial flights since early March, following coordinated attacks in late February by gangs who said they were seeking to overthrow then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
The latter, who has since resigned, was unable to return to his country after a trip to Kenya due to insecurity around the airport.
A transitional presidential council, which must appoint an interim prime minister, has since held the reins of the country.
Travelers queue to board at Toussaint-Louverture airport in Port-au-Prince, May 20, 2024 in Haiti (AFP/Clarens SIFFROY)
Kenya is to shortly deploy police officers to Haiti as part of a UN-backed multinational mission to help the country combat gang violence that controls most of the capital.
An official Haitian source told AFP that senior Kenyan officers had already arrived in Haiti on a reconnaissance mission.
A first contingent of Kenyan troops could be deployed this week, coinciding with a state visit by Kenyan President William Ruto to Washington.
© 2024 AFP
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