Travel between South Florida and Haiti hit a speed bump this week as a slew of airlines canceled flights in response to the growing turmoil enveloping the Caribbean nation. According to NBC Miami, carriers halted services Tuesday in light of the spike in violence that saw heavily armed gangs making bold plays for power, including attempts to overtake Haiti's main airport and unleashing chaos by freeing inmates from the country's major prisons. The crisis led to Miami International Airport scrapping all flights to and from Haiti's capital, with no immediate plans when normal schedules would resume.
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, having also axed its today flights, tentatively keeps a departure tomorrow on the board, per FlightAware data. Still, the travel sector's response remains fluid against the backdrop of Haiti grappling with a newly installed 72-hour state of emergency as Sunday saw its onset. Meanwhile, Americans trying to reach or depart from Haiti find themselves in the lurch, pivoting to alternate plans amidst the cacophony of flight cancellations.
The scale of this disruption is far-reaching, as noted by The Miami Herald. Major player American Airlines pulled its flights, including a daily circuit through tomorrow, citing "civil unrest." Their spokeswoman, Bri Harper, stated, "We will continue to monitor the situation with safety and security top of mind and will adjust our operation as needed." JetBlue also dropped its daily routes from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, guided by the evolving crisis and consultations with the U.S. Embassy and their on-ground team in Haiti. Smaller carriers are not exempt either, with Spirit Airlines suspending flights through tomorrow and Azul's scheduled arrivals and departures from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport facing cancellation.
The airlines' scramble reflects the deepening crisis in Haiti where the recent gang overtake of a police academy and threats to the presidential palace punctuated a grave security slide since the president's assassination in 2021. A curfew and state of emergency were declared by Haiti's finance minister and acting Prime Minister Patrick Boisvert in an attempt to stem the chaos engulfing the streets. In the turmoil's shadow, airlines are assessing the situation day by day, with American advising passengers to stay updated via its app or website and JetBlue urging customers to visit its site for information on potential fee waivers and flight statuses.
