Haiti’s Toussaint-Louverture airport reopens after three months closure due to gang attack

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti: After nearly three months, Haiti’s main international airport has reopened for the public on Monday. The Toussaint-Louverture airport was closed for all the people by the authorities due to the relentless gang violence during the early days of March.

Situated in the capital of Port-au-Prince, the reopening will ease out the ongoing shortage of the medical supplies and other basic amenities that the country is currently going through. As the nation’s main seaport is not functioning at the moment so the Toussaint-Louverture airport will be the only medium to get the supplies to the country. Haiti’s Toussaint-Louverture airport reopens after three months of closure due to gang attack

Currently, a local carrier that is Sunrise Airways, is the only one flying in and out of Port-au-Prince. However, the US based airlines might not start their services until late May or early June.

The very first flight that is expected is from Sunrise Airways. The flight will be bound for Miami and the departure is scheduled for 2:30 PM EDT.

Before the reopening of the Toussaint-Louverture airport in the capital of Port-au-Prince, the only airport that was operating in Haiti was located towards the north coastal city of Cap-Haitien. But the residents willing to flee the country could not use that airport as it was out of reach as all the roads leading to the airport were under the control of the gangs and they were constantly opened firing on the cars and buses that were passing through the roads.

Reacting to the situation promptly, the US government decided to evacuate their citizens by helicopter out of the hilly neighbourhood in Port-au-Prince, as done by other nonprofit organizations, as the gangs had seized the areas of the capital.

The gangs have been aggressively attacking since February 29, when they tried to seize the police stations and they opened fire on the Port-au-Prince airport and also on Haiti’s two biggest prisons and freed around 4000 inmates. They even attacked the peaceful communities and left thousands of people homeless.

The United Nations reports reveal that more than 2500 people from January to March have been under the effect of attacks, either by injuries or killings. These numbers mark a 50% increase compared to last year.

The travellers had a smile but were hiding the fear of being attacked again. A bar counter near the gate was attending to their first clients with quick service.

The manager at a Bar narrated the story of how bullets were fired at the airport on the day of the attack, which led to the closure of the airport for 3 months.

The workers at the airport were happy and grateful to be back at work as they were paid wages for a month only and were unemployed for the rest of the time.

The people leaving Haiti were eager to meet their families and friends and some had tears in their eyes as they were leaving behind their families as they had not received the visa.