One day after a Spirit Airlines flight was forced to abort its landing in Haiti after being struck by gunfire, the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it is banning U.S. flights to the island for 30 days. 

“U.S. civil aviation operations in the territory and airspace of Haiti below 10,000 feet” are prohibited, the agency said in a Notice of Air Mission.

What You Need To Know

  • The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it is banning U.S. flights to the island for 30 days

  • U.S. civil aviation operations in the territory and airspace of Haiti below 10,000 feet are prohibited, the agency said

  • The FAA issued a Notice of Air Mission one day after a Spirit Airlines flight was forced to divert from landing in Haiti after being struck by gunfire

  • The Spirit Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was heading to Haiti's Touissant Louverture Airport in Port-au-Prince

On Monday, a Spirit flight from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., heading to the Touissant Louverture Airport in Haiti’s capital city of Port-au-Prince, was hit four times by gunfire. 

Spirit said in a statement Monday that the plane was diverted and landed safely in Santiago, Dominican Republic. One flight attendant on the plane experienced minor injuries, according to the airline. No passengers reported injuries.

A JetBlue flight traveling to New York City from Haiti on Monday was also hit by gunfire. 

The island nation has become increasingly unstable since its last elected president was murdered in July 2021. The country’s last prime minister was ousted by gangs earlier this year. Almost 4,000 people were killed in Haiti between January and September, and 700,000 people have fled from their homes, according to the United Nations.

Former U.N. official Garry Conille, who had been leading Haiti since May, was fired by the country's ruling council on Tuesday.