Mon, Mar 01, 2004
American Airlines Suspends Service
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 has
suspended all service to and from Haiti until Wednesday, March 3.
Look for other airlines to quickly follow suit.
Despite strife in the country, American had 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) Thursday. The next flights will
not operate until next Wednesday, March 3.
Sunday, President Bush announced the first contingent of Marines
would soon land on Haiti as the first wave of international peace
keepers destined for the island.
"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.
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