Port au Prince, Haiti closed after President assassinated

Port au Prince Toussaint Louverture International Airport, Haiti closed to all traffic on Wednesday, July 7, 2021, following the assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse. A NOTAM published at 1430L (1830Z), which remains in effect until further notice, said the closure is for safety reasons. However, the airport can be reopened but only for humanitarian, diplomatic, and government flights.

“Port-au-Prince airport has been closed today by the Haitian authorities. No Sunrise flight will operate today to or from Port-au-Prince,” local carrier Sunrise Airways (S6, Port au Prince) announced on social media. It added that “due to the current situation in Haiti, all flights are cancelled and delayed until further notice in order to protect staff, passengers, and equipment”. Sunrise Airways normally operates domestic flights from Port au Prince to Cap Haitien, Jérémie, Les Cayes, and internationally to Santo Domingo La Isabela in the Dominican Republic. American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) and JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK) cancelled their flights from Miami Int’l and Boston respectively.

This followed after Haiti’s interim prime minister, Claude Joseph, declared a “state of siege”, which means that all borders have been closed with Haiti’s military and the Haiti National Police (HNP) empowered to enforce martial law.

Joseph called for calm following the attack at the president’s residence in the early hours of Wednesday morning, which he blamed on a “highly trained and heavily armed group” and vowed to bring those responsible swiftly to justice. The president’s wife, Martine Moïse, was also wounded in the assault.

The assassination comes against the backdrop of political instability in Haiti, with many key roles in the country’s government vacant and the parliament effectively defunct. Moîse had faced mounting protests over his governance amid a deepening political and constitutional crisis, with questions being asked about his legitimacy and accusations that he used armed gangs to remain in power, reported the Miami News. Criminal violence in the capital city had escalated in June, including attacks on police and arson of civilian homes. The country was also rocked by a wave of kidnappings earlier this year.