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Zed Airlines planes hit by bullets

2 min read

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, Jan 27, CMC – The National Civil Aviation Office (OFNAC) and the National Airport Authority (AAN) have confirmed that two aircraft had been hit by bullets when landing at the at Toussaint Louverture International Airport on Sunday.

In a joint statement,  OFNAC and AAN “strongly condemned this act which endangers the lives of passengers and crews and compromises the security of Haitian airspace”.

ZED Airlines S.A., which serves Haiti, Latin America, and the Caribbean, announced in a press release on Sunday that two of its aircraft were targeted by gunfire while on approach to Toussaint Louverture International Airport.

As a result, the airline announced that with immediate effect and an indefinite period, the suspension of all its flight operations to Haiti.

In the statement, the airline described the incident as a “force majeure event” that seriously compromised the safety of air operations and that the decision to  suspend operations into the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country was made in accordance with international safety standards and the operator’s legal obligations.

ZED Airlines said that the resumption of flights will depend on technical and safety assessments, instructions from the relevant authorities, and the conclusions of ongoing investigations promising to inform the public of any developments as soon as they are are approved by the authorities.

ZED Airlines is a Haitian-based airline company operating flights between Haiti and Brazil and among the aircraft involved in  Sunday’s incident is a regional jet, used primarily for commercial flights between the two countries. No casualty figures have been released by the airline or authorities at this time.

ZED Airlines was one of the few carriers still operating regular commercial flights on the Port-au-Prince–Brazil route and last  Sunday’s incident has revived memories of the security around the international airport when America’s aviation regulators suspended flights by US carriers to Haiti after three gun attacks in a day on planes belonging to JetBlue, Spirit and American Airlines in 2024.

Increasingly violent gang warfare has plagued Haiti since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021.

The UN has said thousands of Haitians have been killed and several more have had to  flee their homes because of the gangs that have taken over a significant portion of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

CMC/fh/ir/2026