A local nonprofit is trying to find a new way into Haiti after the Federal Aviation Administration banned flights to and from the Caribbean country for 30 days.
Several American Airlines flights scheduled to arrive at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, were canceled Tuesday after three commercial airliners were hit by gunfire amid a surge in gang violence in the country.
On Monday, a flight attendant was injured in a shooting on a Spirit Airlines flight and later, a JetBlue flight was also struck. American Airlines also confirmed a post-flight inspection showed that a bullet hit one of its planes bound for Miami.
Now, the FAA is restricting civilian flights to Haiti for the next 30 days. It also said U.S. flights can't travel under 10,000 feet in Haiti’s airspace during that time.
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America's gone even further, suspending flights to Port-au-Prince through Feb. 12.
It comes on the heels of a warning from the U.S. State Department about violence in the area, saying it is aware of gang-led efforts to block travel to and from Port-au-Prince.
Dallas Haitian United said several members planned to fly into Cap-Haitien next week to work alongside a nonprofit.
Outgoing president Magdala Augustin said much of the area where they were planning to work is hours from the violence. Still, following the shootings, they were discussing alternative plans.
Now that the flight ban has been announced, they’re looking to reroute to the Dominican Republic.
“Our heart aches not only for us being Haitian, for our country, but for the people seeing what is unfolding before our eyes of Haiti because that is not what we’ve known Haiti to be. But sadly, it is what’s taking place at the moment,” said Augustin.
Augustin also worried that safety precautions could hamper local nonprofits' efforts to help Haiti.
The United Nations estimates that gangs currently control 85% of Port-au-Prince.
