Haiti’s Sunrise Airways has suspended flights to and from Port-au-Prince, citing the city’s unstable security situation, though the airline says the measure is temporary and it plans to restart operations in the country’s capital at some point.
The Embraer turboprop operator said on 23 November that, “for strictly security-related reasons, Sunrise Airways informs the public of the immediate suspension of all arriving and departing flights to and from Port-au-Prince until further notice”.
“This decision was made in order to protect our passengers, crews and operations, given the current security situation,” Sunrise says. ”We are closely monitoring developments in coordination with the relevant authorities and will resume operations as soon as conditions allow.”
Sunrise Airways does not specify what triggered the suspension, though local media reports suggest that one of its aircraft was recently struck by gunfire while on final descent to Port-au-Prince.
Gangs seeking to fill the power vacuum left by the 2021 assassination of president Jovenel Moise have assumed near-total control of Port-au-Prince, the United Nations warned in July.
In November 2024, Haiti closed Toussaint Louverture International airport following an incident in which a Spirit Airlines Airbus A321 was struck by gunfire while attempting to land, injuring one flight attendant aboard the jet. That flight was diverted to the Dominican Republic following an aborted landing.
In the aftermath of that incident, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a NOTAM prohibiting US commercial aircraft from flying over Haiti at altitudes lower than 10,000ft. At the time, the FAA said that the gang-driven gun violence that has gripped the country in recent years was “concentrated in the capital of Port-au-Prince as opposition gangs vie for influence”.
The FAA noted that gangs had attempted to breach the perimeter of Toussaint Louverture International and “several aircraft were struck by small arms fire”.
”Civil aviation operations remain at risk during low-altitude flight operation and during the approach and departure phases of flight,” the FAA said.
In September, the FAA extended the ban on commercial flights to Haiti’s capital to March 2026, adding that gunfire and gang-controlled drones posed a risk to low-altitude flights.
