A Spirit Airlines plane diverted landing in Haiti after being struck by gunfire that wounded a flight attendant.
Flight 951 departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, around 9am on Friday for Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, according to FlightAware.Â
Gangs reportedly opened fire at the Spirit plane as Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime entered office with a promise of boosting security in the embattled country.
Spirit confirmed that one of its aircrafts was hit and re-routed to the Dominican Republic. It landed safely at Cibao International Airport in Santiago shortly after 12.30pm.
‘One Flight Attendant on board reported minor injuries and is being evaluated by medical personnel,’ an airline representative told NBC News.
‘No Guest injuries were reported.’
The flight attendant suffered minor injuries and their identity was not immediately released.
Photos showed multiple bullet holes on an overhead bin section and other parts of the aircraft.
Passengers were flown back to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport later the same day on a different plane.
The punctured plane has been taken out of service.
Following the incident, the US Embassy in the Haitian capital stated in an alert to American citizens on the flight that it was ‘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’.
‘The security situation in Haiti is unpredictable and dangerous,’ read the message.
‘Travel within Haiti is conducted at your own risk. The US government cannot guarantee your safety traveling to airports, borders, or during any onward travel.’
Spirit has suspended flights to Haiti amid an ‘evaluation’ of the incident.
American Airlines has also announced it is suspending flights from Miami to Port-au-Prince, and JetBlue’s website stated it was waiving cancelation fees from Monday to Saturday while ‘anticipating disruptions in Haiti due to civil unrest’.
Armed gangs have fired at aircrafts recently, including at a United Nations helicopter last month. Fils-Aime assumed power over the weekend after Garry Conille lasted as prime minister for only six months.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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