FAA Grounds All Flights to Haiti After Gunfire Attacks

The Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) has grounded all U.S. flights to Haiti for a month after three planes were struck by bullets.

On Monday, a Spirit Airlines flight was attempting to land in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, when it was hit by gunfire, leaving one airline crew member with minor injuries. Later on Monday, JetBlue said a post-flight inspection found bullet damage to one of its planes that had recently returned from Haiti. An American Airlines flight from one of Haiti’s primary airports was also struck with gunfire.

In response to this chain of events, Haitian authorities have also suspended flights in and out of the country’s capital and the United Nations announced on Tuesday that it would also be grounding its flights.

The series of gunfire attacks come after nearly a year of increased gang violence and political resistance in Haiti. According to reports, a United Nations helicopter and several U.S. embassy vehicles were shot at in October as well.