FAA extends bar on U.S. flights to Port-au-Prince through Sept. 8

The agency last year allowed American carriers and general aviation pilots to resume flights to six airports in Haiti: Port-de-Paix, Cap-Haitien, Pignon, Jeremie, Antoine-Simon and Jacmel. Last week, the Antoine Simon Airport in the southwestern coastal city of Les Cayes opened with expanded facilities to receive international flights.

The FAA said on Tuesday that armed gangs continue to control large portions of the capital and have used small arms to fire on civilian aircraft, helicopters and airports that damaged multiple aircraft and injured an air crew member.

The FAA said Haitian gangs “possess small arms, including high-caliber rifles and machine guns, posing risks primarily to aircraft on the ground, during low-altitude flight operations and during the approach/departure phases of flight.”

U.S. planes can transit over Port-au-Prince above 10,000 feet or 3,048 meters.