FAA BANS US FLIGHTS TO HAITI AFTER TWO AMERICAN PLANES HIT BY GUNFIRE

WASHINGTON, Nov 13  (Bernama-UPI) -- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has banned flights to-and-from Haiti for at least 30 days after JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines planes were hit by gunfire Monday near Port-au-Prince, United Press International (UPI) reported.

The FAA said Tuesday that in addition to a 30-day ban, it's temporarily prohibiting most United States (US) flights from travelling under 10,000 feet in Haitian territory or airspace.

The agency said the ban is due to "safety of flight risks associated with ongoing security instability" on the Haitian side of the island of Hispaniola, which has seen gang violence overrun the country this year.

Exceptions will be made only for emergency flights authorised by the US government with FAA approval.

On Monday, a JetBlue plane and Spirit Airlines Flight 951 were reportedly hit by gunfire near Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince.

The Spirit flight had departed from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and JetBlue was on the way to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

A Spirit Airlines flight crew member sustained minor injuries, officials said. The plane was diverted to the neighboring Dominican Republican in Santiago about 11:30 a.m. local time.

Initially, JetBlue Airways cancelled flights until Dec 2 with American Airlines halting them until at least Thursday. Spirit cancelled all flights pending its investigation. But according to Haiti-based Sunrise Airways, the FAA ban and Monday's shooting incidents have not affected its flights.

At the time, the US Embassy said American officials were "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 incidents occurred on the same day that Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille was fired from his post. The former doctor and chief of UNICEF Latin America had been tasked to lead the troubled nation.

A source with its National Airport Authority said the Spirit plane was roughly 1 mile from the local airport above Clercin -- one of the known battlegrounds in Haiti's ongoing gang war -- when bullets hit it.

Businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aime is to replace Conille as prime minister.

-- BERNAMA-UPI