Resumption of Flights Between Port-au-Prince and Provincial Cities: A Bid to Connect Regions

PORT-AU-PRINCE.— The gradual resumption of regular flights between Port-au-Prince and several provincial cities, announced by the Ministry of Tourism starting December 22, 2025, marks a strategic step in the authorities' attempt to restore national mobility and stimulate economic recovery in a still fragile security and logistical context.

Confirmed by the Minister of Tourism, John Herrick Dessources, this decision is the result of inter-institutional consultations involving the MTPTC, OFNAC, the National Airport Authority (AAN), and the Haitian National Police (PNH). These discussions focused on evaluating the minimum conditions for security, technical compliance, and operational readiness of airport infrastructure, essential elements for any sustainable resumption of domestic air traffic.

Beyond its symbolic scope, the relaunch of domestic flights addresses an economic imperative. By facilitating the movement of economic actors, civil servants, and tourism operators, air transport once again becomes a tool for streamlining exchanges between the capital and the regions, which are often penalized by the deterioration of the road network and persistent insecurity on certain land routes.

From a tourism perspective, this resumption is part of a strategy to reposition regional destinations. Air accessibility is a decisive factor for the development of hubs like Jacmel, Les Cayes, or Jérémie, where tourism potential remains largely underexploited due to a lack of reliable and regular connections. For the authorities, improving internal connectivity thus appears as a prerequisite for any credible strategy to revive the sector.

Speaking from the Jacmel Convention Center, Minister Dessources emphasized the structuring dimension of air transport in territorial planning. According to him, the resumption of regular flights should not be seen as a one-off measure, but as a lever for opening up regions, capable of reducing regional disparities and strengthening national economic integration.

This announcement comes as part of an official tour by the Minister of Tourism in the Grand Sud (Southern Region), aimed at evaluating the progress of several tourism projects. While progress has been welcomed on some sites, authorities remain aware that the sustainability of this resumption will depend closely on the evolution of the security climate, the state's capacity to guarantee the safety of airport infrastructure, and lasting coordination among the institutions involved.

In a country facing multiple structural constraints, the resumption of domestic flights thus appears as a full-scale test of the state's capacity to combine security, mobility, and economic development, serving an anticipated territorial recovery.

Jean Mapou/ Le Relief