Aviation History
Haiti's modern civil aviation centers on Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, which opened in the 1960s, though the country has never sustained a long-running full-service flag carrier. Smaller regional operators, most recently Sunrise Airways, have provided the bulk of scheduled Haitian air service. Chronic instability — including the 2010 earthquake and, since 2024, gang violence that has repeatedly closed or restricted Port-au-Prince's airport and prompted foreign carriers to suspend service — has made Haitian aviation highly volatile in recent years.
Haiti's main gateway airport opened in Port-au-Prince, becoming the country's principal link to international air travel.
Small Haitian operators such as Haïti Air Inter and later Air Haïti International provided limited scheduled domestic and Caribbean regional service over subsequent decades, though none endured as a stable national flag carrier.
The January 2010 earthquake damaged Port-au-Prince's airport facilities and severely strained Haiti's air transport capacity during the humanitarian response.
Sunrise Airways was established and grew into Haiti's leading scheduled carrier, operating domestic routes and regional service to the Caribbean, US and Latin America.
Escalating gang violence around Port-au-Prince, including gunfire striking a Spirit Airlines flight in November 2024, led the US FAA to bar American carriers from flying into the capital and prompted extended airport disruptions; the situation has continued to evolve and remains volatile.
Sunrise Airways · Haïti Air Inter (historical)
Wikipedia, FAA notices, news reporting on Haitian aviation security