Haiti: Spirit Airlines flight diverts after being hit by gunfire

No passengers were injured but one flight attendant was reportedly grazed by a bullet. Photo / 123rf

A passenger plane from the US was hit by gunfire as it tried to land in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

A Spirit Airlines flight destined for Port-au-Prince has been struck by gunfire, forcing it to be diverted to the neighbouring Dominican Republic.

Spirit said in a statement that the plane had been damaged and taken out of commission upon landing in the northern Dominican city of Santiago.

A flight attendant was injured in the incident, Spirit said. The Miami Herald had reported that the attendant was grazed by a bullet.

No passengers were injured, Spirit added.

A video circulating on social media, which appears to have been taken by a Spirit employee but which Reuters was unable to immediately verify, shows where a bullet had come through near the back exit door to then strike the overhead bin across the aisle.

Haiti is in the grip of a deep political crisis, with police exchanging gunfire with gangs.

All flights in and out of Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince have been halted, the US embassy to the Caribbean nation said in a travel advisory.

The embassy “is aware of gang-led efforts to block travel to and from Port-au-Prince which may include armed violence, and disruptions to roads, ports and airports”, it said.

Spirit said it had suspended flights to Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien, in Haiti’s north, “pending further evaluation”.

JetBlue and American Airlines will cancel flights through Thursday, they said separately, and will monitor to determine whether more cancellations may be needed.

The passengers aboard the Spirit flight today will be taken back in another aircraft to Fort Lauderdale, where the flight departed from, Spirit said.

Armed gangs in Haiti’s capital have shot at aircraft in recent weeks as the security situation deteriorates. Last month, a UN helicopter was hit by gunfire over Port-au-Prince.