Spirit Airlines plane shot at while approaching Port-au-Prince in Haiti
A Spirit Airlines flight has been struck by gunfire on its approach to the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.
The airline said one flight attendant was injured in the incident but no passengers were injured.
In a statement, the airline added the plane had been damaged and taken out of commission being diverted to the northern Dominican city of Santiago.
A video circulating on social media, which appears to have been taken by a Spirit employee but which Reuters was unable to immediately verify, shows where another bullet had come through near the back exit door to then strike the overhead bin across the aisle.
The Miami Herald reported that the attendant was grazed by a bullet.
All flights in and out of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince have been halted, the US embassy to the Caribbean nation said in a travel advisory.
The embassy "is aware of gang-led efforts to block travel to and from Port-au-Prince which may include armed violence, and disruptions to roads, ports and airports," it said.
Police officers patrol the area in Port-au-Prince. (AP Photo: Odelyn Joseph)
Spirit said that it had suspended flights to Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien, in Haiti's north, "pending further evaluation".
JetBlue will cancel flights to and from Haiti through Thursday, it said, and will monitor to determine whether more cancellations may be needed.
The passengers aboard the Spirit flight on Monday will be taken back in another aircraft to Fort Lauderdale, where the flight departed from, Spirit said.
This incident comes less than a day after Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille was fired after just six months in the job.
Armed gangs in Haiti's capital have shot at aircraft in recent weeks as the security situation deteriorates.
In March this year, heavily armed gangs tried to seize control of Haiti's international airport, exchanging gunfire with police and soldiers.
Last month, a United Nations helicopter was hit by gunfire over Port-au-Prince, the World Food Programme (WFP) said.
The WFP said in October, that 5.4 million Haitians, or roughly half of the population, is suffering from acute hunger.
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