Airlines suspend flights to Haiti after plane 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 suffered minor injuries, but passengers were not injured in the attack. It was the second in three weeks on a plane flying over Haiti’s capital.

The incident came as a new prime minister took office in the troubled country plagued by armed gangs and escalating violence.

According to the AFP news agency, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said his priority was to “restore security.”

Regardless of the country’s “difficult circumstances,” he promised to put all his energy, skills and “patriotism at the service of the national cause.”

The businessman, who unsuccessfully ran for a Senate seat in 2015, studied at Boston University. He was appointed by the country’s governing council after the previous leader, Garry Conille, was ousted less than six months after taking office.

The Spirit Airlines flight was scheduled to land at Toussaint Louverture International Airport shortly before 12:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m. GMT) 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.