Port-de-Paix Airport receives repairs despite dangerous reputation

PORT-DE-PAIX, Haiti—Despite warnings from late President Jovenel Moïse about the dangers of flying at Port-de-Paix Airport, local authorities have been rehabilitating the runway since March 25 in hopes of resuming flights. Although repairs are ongoing, officials conducted two test landings on April 4 to evaluate the runway’s quality.

The airport, which closed in 2021, had fallen into disrepair, with residents dumping garbage onto the dirt runway, which measures 1,500 meters long and 40 meters wide. Workers have been clearing the area with excavators, removing dark brown mud mixed with trash.

Although much work remains, the two test flights successfully landed on the runway. Dust sprayed behind the planes as they cruised over debris that still littered the surface.

“It’s true that we don’t have a runway that follows all of the criteria,” Rock Excéus, the delegate of the Northwestern Department, told LAKAY Media after the landings. 

“But we [local officials] sat together to see what could be done to give the metropole of the northwest, Port-de-Paix, a runway of fortune.”

When completed, the airport will be able to accommodate local flights with five to 19 seats and people will be airlifted to hospitals and for other emergencies, Port-de-Paix’s Mayor Josué Alusma told The Haitian Times.

The late President Moïse told the population not to fly at the Port-de-Paix Airport in 2020, based on studies from the National Airport Authority (AAN) and the National Office of Civil Aviation (OFNAC).

“When we choose to fly on this runway, it is already an unreported accident,” Moïse said. “Avoid flying on this runway because there is already too much construction around it that can cause plane crashes.”

AAN has yet to reply to The Haitian Times’ interview request regarding the Port-de-Paix Airport’s runway renovation.

Air travel desperately needed across Haiti

Port-de-Paix authorities kicked off the runway rehabilitation project following the request of many residents. Because gang members have blocked transportation on major roads and the city’s seaport has not been operational, traveling by air is the most reliable way out of the commune.

Residents have seen Port-de-Paix’s airport runway cleanup as the latest building block to strengthen air travel and connect the Northwest Department with the rest of the provinces, a much-needed initiative. Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haïtien and Les Cayes have long been the only three communes with functioning airports. Residents in other communes have traveled long hours to catch flights in these cities in the past years. Port-au-Prince’s airport has not been fully operational since Nov. 12, 2024, and as a result, air travel has been concentrated in Cap-Haïtien, the only other city with international flights.

Port-au-Prince’s airport closure has highlighted the importance of other cities having functioning airports instead of relying on the capital. Gangs have also been spreading throughout the country, and one of their criminal activities is blocking roads, making it even more crucial for the provinces to have more airports.

“In this period of insecurity, traveling by air may be better for me; our safety will be much more guaranteed by plane,” said Wilder Julien, a 32-year-old entrepreneur in Port-de-Paix. “I often travel to other cities like Cap Haïtien and Port-au-Prince to buy telecommunication equipment to resell.” 

During its effort to reinforce air travel in the provinces, Haiti’s government upgraded an airport in Les Cayes, a southern city, on March 5, the Antoine Simon International Airport. Haiti’s government also poured $4.7 million into the repair of the runway of the airport in Cap-Haïtien last winter. 

While Cap-Haïtien was able to find the money, Port-de-Paix officials have yet to evaluate the cost of the runway repair, nor have they come up with the sum needed, putting the project at risk.

“This work is being undertaken with whatever means are available and what little we can muster,” Excéus told The Haitian Times in a March interview. “We hope to find financial support from the region’s citizens to ensure the continuity of these activities.” 

Another stumbling block that has been slowing down the project is the growing gang violence in Port-de-Paix.

“While the process for the North-Western Department to have an international airport, like all other departments in Haiti, is still underway, our biggest constraint is the insecurity that prevents us from moving forward with this project,” Alusma told The Haitian Times in a March interview.

While residents are delighted with the Port-de-Paix Airport rehabilitation project, they also would like to see other airports built in the provinces.

“I’m not against the goal of cleaning the city’s runway to accommodate local flights, but what I was waiting for was the completion of certain airport infrastructure projects already underway, such as the Port-à-l’Écu (a northwestern village) International Airport project,” Igenel Salomon, a 26-year-old university student, said.

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