Overview:
As planned, Sunrise Airways resumed its domestic flights on June 12, providing residents with a much-needed air travel solution to and from Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital. However, despite the country’s transitional government allocating $11 million to cover insurance costs, ticket prices remain high for many Haitians—fueling more frustration and criticism.
CAP-HAÏTIEN — Despite receiving $11 million from the Haitian government to cover insurance for potential risks associated with domestic operations, Sunrise Airways has resumed local flights, with ticket prices still reaching unaffordable levels for many Haitians. As road insecurity continues to paralyze movement across the country, the limitations on air travel options have left residents with no choice but to pay high fares.
As announced last week, the Haiti-based airline company resumed its domestic operations on Thursday, June 12, connecting Port-au-Prince to the north and south. However, the high ticket prices—with Sunrise Airways remaining the only option—mean that air travel is still out of reach for most residents.
The steep cost of flying has become a flashpoint in Haiti’s ongoing travel crisis. With roadways under gang control and the country’s aviation infrastructure limited to a single domestic carrier, airfare has become both a lifeline and a symbol of deep frustration. While the government subsidy was meant to make flying more accessible, the lack of transparency and price regulation is driving public outcry among Haitians at home and abroad, who view air travel as essential in times of crisis.
Alexandre Baptiste, using a pseudonym for safety reasons, expressed outrage after landing at the Hugo Chávez Cap-Haïtien International Airport from Port-au-Prince on June 12. Sitting in the waiting area beside two suitcases, he pulled out his phone to show his ticket: $243.50 for a roughly 30-minute flight.
“This is black market,” Baptiste said. “They are profiting from the country’s security crises. I don’t see anything justifying charging $243.50 for a 25-minute local flight,” he fumed in an interview with The Haitian Times.
“I don’t see anything justifying charging $243.50 for a 25-minute local flight. The State should intervene and regulate prices. They need to act in our favor. We, all the consumers, will keep getting victimized if the State does not intervene.”
Alexandre Baptiste, Sunrise Airways passenger
“The State should intervene and regulate prices. They need to act in our favor. I’m the consumer, you’re the consumer. We are all consumers, and we will keep getting victimized if the State does not intervene.”
The government’s $11 million allocation was meant to ease the burden of soaring insurance costs that arose after Port-au-Prince gangs opened fire on Spirit Airlines, JetBlue Airways and American Airlines’ planes on November 11, 2024, causing a United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ban on commercial carriers to Haiti since then. Yet many travelers, like Baptiste, say the Haitian government’s subsidy has not translated into relief at the ticket counter — leaving them demanding transparency, price regulation and competition.
“Finally, it seems as if this country will never get well,” Jenny Constantin posted on Facebook. “I’m almost discouraged.”
Current domestic ticket prices include $230 for a one-way trip from Cap-Haïtien to Les Cayes and $215 for Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haïtien. Most people are traveling only when absolutely necessary — such as one passenger who flew north for a funeral — but even urgent needs for air travel do not lessen people’s feeling of being taken advantage of.
For many, Sunrise’s international flights are also expensive. One-way tickets from Cap-Haïtien to Miami currently range from $380 to $730. The airline remains the only operator offering international flights from Haiti to the U.S. to date, leaving the Haitian diaspora — particularly those trying to reconnect with families or yearn for life back home — with fewer alternatives.
Competition may come sooner or later
Relief may be on the horizon. IBC Airways, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, successfully tested a one-hour, 32-minute flight from Miami to Les Cayes on June 12. The carrier plans to begin international flights to and from Haiti by July, a development welcomed by residents in the country’s Greater South and the diaspora, who applauded the move.
IBC’s entry is particularly significant for communities and businesses in the southern regions. Many, like civil society organizer Anselme Junior Joseph, have long called for expanded air travel options. Joseph is a lead figure in the mobilization campaign #NouBoukeTann, Haitian Creole for “We are fed up with waiting.”
Haitian officials completed the long-delayed step by expanding the airport runway from 1,350 to 1,850 meters and making it possible to accommodate aircraft with 50 to 80 passengers.
“As for IBC Airways’ plan for July, we are excited because we needed competition,” Joseph said via WhatsApp messages to The Haitian Times. “With Sunrise being the only company making the route, that was never going to work for us. So IBC comes in — we like that.”
Still, Joseph emphasized that the infrastructure must be strengthened for sustainable service, including the installation of a refueling station, better customs processing and standardized airport services for departing and arriving international passengers.
IBC Airways plans to initially use a 50-seater aircraft that has been converted into a 30-passenger plane to create more luggage space. Joseph and others hope that demand will soon justify larger aircraft, such as the Boeing 737-300, which can carry up to 149 passengers—providing options for transporting many more people.
IBC Airways describes itself as being dedicated to offering reliable and cost-effective air travel options to and from the Caribbean and Latin America. The Florida-based airline appears poised to challenge Sunrise.
In a May 2024 interview with The Haitian Times, Philippe Bayard, the president of Sunrise Airways, cited multiple reasons for the high ticket costs, including the shutdown of Toussaint Louverture International Airport, security-related insurance hikes, staffing expenses, high airplane lease costs and the supply-demand imbalance. But with the Port-au-Prince airport now operational again, and the government covering insurance costs, two major factors have been removed, leading residents to question why prices remain inflated.
Options remain scarce, however. Sunrise is still the sole commercial and domestic carrier operating in Haiti — a monopoly that many argue is no longer sustainable. “We need more and better options,” Joseph said.