US extends ban on flights to Haiti's capital as gang violence surges

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – The US Federal Aviation Administration has extended a ban on United States flights to Haiti's capital until March next year as gang violence persists.

The ban means that commercial operators and US registered civilian aircraft can't fly below 10,000 feet (around 3,000 meters) in Port-au-Prince and nearby areas, including parts of central Haiti.

The FAA first halted such flights in November 2025 after gunmen shot at a Spirit Airlines flight as it was 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 has extended its ban several times since that incident, a move that continues to isolate Port-au-Prince from the rest of the country.

The latest extension was implemented on Tuesday and will remain in place until March 2, 2027.

Police and a UN-backed gang suppression force are trying to quell gangs that control an estimated 70 per cent of Port-au-Prince and swaths of land in Haiti's central region.

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