FAA halts non-aid flights from US to Haiti because of overcrowded airport, lack of fuel

Aid flight to Haiti resume, other charters on hold

WASHINGTON — Military officials said aid flights from the U.S. to earthquake-ravaged Haiti were resumed Thursday afternoon, but other charter flights were still being held back.

Maj. Shannon Horne of the U.S. Southern Command in Miami said the non-aid charter flights remained on hold because of overcrowding at the airport in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. The hold might be lifted later in the day, Horne said.

Civilian flights from the United States to Haiti were halted at 11:50 a.m. EST Thursday at the request of the Haitian government because there was no room at Toussaint L’Ouverture International Airport for more planes and no fuel to spare for departing aircraft, said a U.S. official who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly and asked not to be named.

At the time, there were 11 flights circling the heavily damaged airport, but no more ramp room to store planes once they landed, the official said.

There was also very limited jet fuel available for planes leaving Haiti, the official said.

The airport’s control tower was destroyed in Tuesday’s earthquake.

Special tactics officers from Hurlburt Field Air Force Special Operations Command in Florida said their teams are in control of operations at the Haitian airport.

Lt. Col. John Dorrian, spokesman for the command, said airmen have cleared runways, established 24-hour air traffic control and have weather systems and airport lighting up and running. He said dozens of cargo planes were taking off and landing Thursday, but damage to ramps was slowing efforts to remove cargo from the planes.

The Air Force is working to bring in fork lifts and other heavy equipment to help move cargo.

Associated Press Writers Lisa Orkin in Miami and Melissa Nelson in Pensacola, Fla., contributed to this report.