Subsidized With $11 Million by the State, Sunrise Shuts Down and Embarrasses the Executive

Sunrise Airways has announced the immediate suspension of its flights to Port-au-Prince after one of its aircraft was struck by projectiles during its approach on November 23, 2025. No injuries were reported, but the company is describing the event as a “serious incident” and is openly blaming the complete failure of the State’s security measures.

Three independent technical assessments confirm the severity of the event, placing the authorities before their international obligations under ICAO regulations. Yet the official response is slow to come, even though security standards require a formal investigation every time an aircraft is hit by gunfire — a procedure that has never been consistently applied in Haiti.

The situation is especially embarrassing for the government because Sunrise had become, under the administration of Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, the only Haitian airline still operating after the FAA suspended international flights and after the paralysis of Toussaint Louverture Airport. This political closeness became evident with the June 5 agreement, which granted up to $11 million in public funds to relaunch domestic flights — a decision widely criticized as “a subsidy for a monopoly.”

While ticket prices remain unaffordable for most people, a parallel market has flourished, reserved for the wealthy, with helicopter flights costing up to $2,500. Sunrise, the sole survivor in a collapsed aviation sector, now holds a dominant position that benefits elites far more than the general public, which indirectly finances its survival.

The company is now demanding immediate measures to secure the airport perimeter, strengthen investigative procedures, and restore minimum safety standards. It is calling on the State to assume its responsibilities, but the suspension of its operations starkly exposes a troubling reality: the survival of Haiti’s national air transport system rests on a company closely tied to the government, sustained by public funds, and operating in an environment the authorities are unable to secure.