Airlines suspend flights as Spirit plane is hit by gunfire

Several airlines have suspended flights to Haiti after a passenger plane from the United States was hit by gunfire while attempting to land in Port-au-Prince.

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

A flight attendant was slightly injured, the airline said in a statement, adding that no passengers were injured.

It is the second time in three weeks that aircraft have been attacked over the Haitian capital.

Haiti is in a deep political crisis and armed gangs control large parts of the country.

A new prime minister was appointed by the country’s governing council on Monday after the previous leader Garry ConilleHe was removed from office after less than six months.

The Spirit Airlines flight was scheduled to land at Toussaint Louverture International Airport just before 12:00 p.m. local time (5:00 p.m. GMT) on Monday when it was hit.

An unconfirmed video of the incident shared on social media appeared to show multiple bullet holes inside the plane where the crew sat during takeoff and landing.

Spirit Airlines said an inspection of the plane at Santiago airport found damage “attributable to gunfire.” The aircraft has been decommissioned, Spirit added.

The airline said it had also suspended flights to Haiti “pending further assessment.”

Two other U.S. airlines, American Airlines and JetBlue, have also suspended flights to Haiti until at least Thursday.

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

A United Nations-backed police mission led by officials from Kenya began in June to regain control from the gangs.

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