Since a gang uprising began on 29 February, Haiti, especially capital Port-au-Prince, has been on lockdown, with tourists and locals alike trapped inside the rioting city. Now, the Caribbean republic’s main international airport has finally reopened after almost 3 months.upri
When the uprising started, gang members took over police station, freed over 4,000 inmates from jails and attacked and closed down the Port-au-Prince airport and seaports. While the airport in the northern city of Cap-Haïtien has remained open, people were still stuck in the capital as gangs control the roads and open fire at passing cars and buses.
The first plane to take off from the capital departed with an almost 2-hour delay yesterday. Although passengers reported unbearable conditions as the aircraft’s air conditioning did not function until take-off, they were happy to finally leave the violence drowned country. One passenger was heard saying “Yes, yes” as the plane departed, according to AP News.
The flight was operated by Haitian Sunrise Airways, on a charter plane contracted from Florida-based carrier World Atlantic. While more commercial flights are expected this week, US carriers have not given any indication of restarting operations to Port-au-Prince at least until late May or early June.
The restart of commercial operations provides a much-awaited escape route for people who are eager to flee the country. Although the US government and non-profit organisations have been evacuating hundreds of people by helicopter, thousands more remain. Not only tourists, but locals who were left homeless by the gang attacks, which have caused the death or serious injury of over 2,500 people over the past 3 months, according to the United Nations.
“There are thousands of people who wanted to travel, but for a certain time who could not travel. I have my tent which I had to live in for more than three months. Many people were suffering”, Rosemond Desire told AP Television News.
Besides facilitating the provision of scarce medical supplies to the country, the re-opening of the airport also allows employees to get back to work. Some were still paid for part of the time the airport was closed, but most were left without an income over the past 3 months. “We are scared because they can still attack us here. We must come in. It’s our job, but we’re afraid”, Klav-Dja Raphael, manager of the Couronne Bar near the gate operated yesterday told AP News.
The closure of the airport also prevented former Prime Minister Ariel Henry from returning to the country. He was on an official visit to Kenya when the attacks started, the gangs demanded his resignation, promising the violence would stop. He resigned in March, but the riots continued.
A transitional presidential council has been set up and is preparing elections for a new Prime Minister. Kenya, the Bahamas, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Bangladesh have all said they would send police reinforcements to Haiti to oversee the instalment of a new government.
