Spirit Airlines headed back to northern Haiti after two-month suspension of flights

The first of three major U.S. airlines is returning to Haiti. Spirit Airlines said it is resuming daily commercial service between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Cap-Haïtien on Friday and passengers can start booking on spirit.com.

“We are resuming daily service at Cap-Haïtien (CAP) beginning May 10, 2024, following a thorough assessment and discussions with our safety, security, and airport partners,” the airline said in a statement. “The safety of our guests and team members is our top priority.”

Spirit spokesman Michael Lopardi said the service between FLL and Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince remains suspended as the carrer evaluates its options for safety. Haiti’s capital remains under the threat of armed gangs, who in recent days launched fresh attacks against a Port-au-Prince neighborhood.

“We will continue to closely monitor the situation in Haiti and adjust our schedule as needed,” Spirit said.

The low-cost carrier based in Dania Beach suspended its service into Haiti on March 4 along with American Airlines and JetBlue Airways after armed gangs tried to take over the international airport, orchestrated a jail break of the country’s two largest prisons and vandalized police stations. Though Cap-Haïtien, the country’s second largest city, has been free of the violence of Port-au-Prince, Spirit Airlines made a decision to suspend its flights there. That left only Sunrise Airways, the Haitian-owned carrier, as the only option flying out of the Hugo Chavez International Airport.

The return of Spirit Airlines provides additional options for Haitians who have been paying more than $900 to fly out of Haiti into the United States, many of them beneficiaries of the two-year humanitarian parole program launched a year ago by the Biden administration for nationals of Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.