WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) – The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has extended the flight ban from the North American country to the Haitian capital into the next year over security risks, according to an FAA statement.

The FAA had imposed the ban on US commercial flights to Port-au-Prince, the capital of the French-speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) country that was due to have expired on Monday, but now extended to March 7, 2026.

“Haitian (foreign terrorist organisations) maintain access to small arms and unmanned aircraft systems capable of reaching low-altitude phases of flight,” the FAA said in a statement, noting that Haitian gangs now control 90 per cent of the capital, as well as nearby strategic routes and border areas.

In May, Washington designated the powerful gang coalition, known as Viv Ansanm, as a foreign terrorist organisation. The coalition had forced Haiti’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport in the capital to close for for nearly three months last year after launching coordinated attacks on key government infrastructure.

In November 2024, the FAA imposed a temporary 30-day halt on all flights to Haiti after three US-registered planes including a Spirit Airlines flight landing in Port-au-Prince, was hit by gunfire and a flight attendant received minor injuries. Other commercial planes on the ground were hit at the time.

The FAA continues to ban US civil aviation from operating below 10,000 feet in designated areas of Haitian airspace, due to ongoing security challenges that prevent authorities from stopping attacks on aircraft in and around the capital.

The airport reopened in December, but it wasn’t until June that the first commercial domestic flights resumed.

FAA said that there has been at least one reported incident of suspected Haitian foreign terrorist organisations firing small arms at low-flying aircraft within the restricted area since March this year.