Sunrise Airways (S6, Port au Prince) has suspended all operations from March 1 as the Caribbean nation sees a rapid rise in gang violence and political instability, which has also forced the cancellation of most flights in and out of Port au Prince.
In a statement to broadcaster CNN, it said it had suspended “all flights until further notice to ensure the safety of passengers, ground crews, and aircraft.”
Port-au-Prince Airport is mostly closed, according to Flightradar24 ADS-B data. On Sunday, March 3, just a handful of flights departed the country’s main airport - two operated by JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK), flying to JFK and Fort Lauderdale International, and one run by Air Century (Y2, Santo Domingo La Isabela) to Santo Domingo.
Sunrise Airways operates around 62% of all weekly frequencies out of the airport, according to ch-aviation capacities data. Other carriers operating from Port-au-Prince besides JetBlue and Air Century typically include American Airlines, Spirit Airlines, interCaribbean Airways, StratAir, Air Transat, and Air Caraibes.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows that the Sunrise fleet comprises two in-house aircraft, namely one BAe Jetstream 32 and one EMB-120ER (wet-leased to subsidiary Sunrise Dominicana). Additionally, it wet-leases five airframes - one A321-200 from Avion Express Malta, three more E120s, and one E145 from Sahara African Aviation.
ch-aviation has reached out to Sunrise Airways for comment.
