US extends ban on commercial flights to Haiti’s capital due to gang violence

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica (AP) - The Federal Aviation Administration has extended its ban on U.S. commercial flights to Haiti's capital through Sept. 3 over a risk that criminal gangs could target aircraft.

The FAA halted all flights in November after a Spirit Airlines flight was shot at while landing at Port-au-Prince's Toussaint Louverture International Airport. A flight attendant received minor injuries and other commercial planes on the ground were hit.

The FAA said in a notice published on Monday that it was extending the ban "due to safety-of-flight risks associated with ongoing instability," a move that further isolates the capital of the troubled country.

The agency said pilots may deviate from the ban in an emergency requiring immediate action.

Sunrise Airways, a domestic carrier, also halted flights in and out of Port-au-Prince in late November because of a shooting involving a plane, according to the U.S. Embassy.

Those who can afford it fly in and out of Port-au-Prince via helicopters or other private air transportation.

Meanwhile, many Haitians balk at ground transportation because heavily armed gangs control the main roads going in and out of Port-au-Prince and are known for occasionally gang-raping women passing through or randomly opening fire on vehicles.

Gangs control an estimated 90% of Haiti's capital and swaths of land in the country's interior. A majority of those gangs are members of a coalition known as Viv Ansanm, or "Live Together," which the U.S. government has designated as a terror organization.

The coalition forced the international airport at Port-au-Prince to close for nearly three months last year after launching coordinated attacks on key government infrastructure.