With many of its employees finding it increasingly difficult to get to
work at the Port-au-Prince airport because of disturbances in the area,
American Airlines announced today that it is suspending all service to and
from Haiti until Wednesday, March 3.
Despite strife in the country, American has managed to maintain its
services between the United States and Haiti until now. The airline
operates three nonstop flights daily between Port-au-Prince and Miami, and
one nonstop a day between Port-au-Prince and both Fort Lauderdale and New
York’s Kennedy Airport. American also has one flight a day on Saturdays
and Sundays between Port-au-Prince and Boston.

American’s last flight from Port-au-Prince, a nonstop to Miami, departed
at 4:00 p.m. (local time) today. The next flights will not operate until
next Wednesday, March 3.

“American has a long history of commitment to its Haiti services and has
done everything possible to sustain its flights into and out of
Port-au-Prince under very difficult circumstances,” said Peter J. Dolara,
the airline’s senior vice president for Miami, the Caribbean and Latin
America. “However, in recent days, it has become extremely difficult for
our employees to gain access to the airport, and we are now concerned that
we will not have enough people at the airport to properly serve our
customers and handle our aircraft at the gate. We believe the best
decision for our customers and our employees is to suspend the service for
a few days until the situation in Haiti improves.”

American said it is initiating calls to those customers booked on the
flights being cancelled to notify them of the decision and assist them
with alternate arrangements. The airline said it will honor the tickets on
later flights without service fees, once its Port-au-Prince service
resumes, and that refunds will be granted to those who request them.
——-