Haiti reopens airport after it closed due to gang violence

BOGOTA, Colombia

The government in Haiti announced the main international airport reopened Wednesday to commercial flights after it was closed for one month due to gang violence.

The Toussaint Louverture Port-au-Prince Airport closed Nov. 11 when gangs attacked a Spirit Airlines plane that was preparing to land at the terminal. The attack cause minor injuries to a flight attendant.

Several aircraft were also hit by bullets during the attack, which was part of a new offensive launched by the gang coalition led by Jimmy Cherisier, alias Barbeque, a former police-officer-turned-powerful gang leader.

After the incident, Spirit, JetBlue and American Airlines canceled flights to Haiti.

And the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) banned US airlines from flying to the Caribbean country for 30 days.

Haitian soldiers and police, reinforced by a UN-led Kenyan police mission to end gang violence, have increased security in the area and made a successful test flight, according to a government statement.

The only operational international airport in Haiti in the last month was in the northern coastal city of Cap-Haitien, but travelling there by land is dangerous.

It was not clear which flights would resume Wednesday to Port-au-Prince. The FAA ban is in effect until Thursday.

The airport in Port-au-Prince closed for almost three months earlier this year after gangs launched attacks on government infrastructure in February.

The Caribbean country has been hit by violence by gangs that control more than 80% of the national capital of Port-au-Prince and other areas of the nation.

About 5,000 people have been killed in Haiti this year, including more than 100 in a recent massacre in a gang-controlled community in Port-au-Prince.