US bans flights to Haiti after planes hit by gunfire

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) – The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that it is banning US flights to Haiti for 30 days after two American planes were struck by gunfire.

In a Notice to Air Mission, the agency prohibited US airlines from operating flights in Haiti's territory and airspace below 10,000 feet (3,048 meters).

The ban came after Spirit Airlines and JetBlue Airways flights were hit by gunfire Monday in airspace over the capital, Port-au-Prince.

JetBlue Airways said Monday that it would extend a halt to all flights to and from Haiti through Dec. 2.

Haiti's Transitional Presidential Council appointed businessman and former senate candidate Alix Didier Fils-Aime as the country’s new prime minister Monday after firing Garry Conille following a political power struggle with the council over control of the government.

Despite the presence of a Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission backed by the UN, the country continues to see a rise in murders, kidnappings, hunger and territory controlled by gangs.

The UN has reported that nearly 4,900 people have been killed in Haiti between January and September this year and some 700,000 people have been displaced within Haitian territory.