Flying to Haiti in 2026: the complete guide

If you have family in Haiti, 2026 has been a year of workarounds. This guide puts everything we know in one place, as of September 2, 2026. We update it whenever the FAA, the State Department or an airline changes something. If you read nothing else: fly to Cap-Haïtien, book early for December, weigh your bags at home, and arrive at the airport three hours before departure.

The situation in one paragraph

On November 11, 2024 a Spirit Airlines flight on approach to Port-au-Prince was hit by gunfire. The FAA banned US airlines from Haitian airspace the next day, then narrowed the ban to the airspace around the capital. That order has been renewed every six months since. The current one, FAA NOTAM A0046/26, prohibits US carriers and US airmen from operating below 10,000 feet in the band between 18°20'N and 19°10'N from September 1, 2026 through March 2, 2027. Port-au-Prince (PAP) sits inside the band. Cap-Haïtien (CAP), at 19°44'N, sits outside it and is open. Sunrise Airways, a Haitian carrier, is not bound by the FAA order but has suspended its own Port-au-Prince flights for security reasons. So for the winter of 2026 to 2027, Cap-Haïtien is Haiti's international airport.

Who flies to Cap-Haïtien

Sunrise Airways has carried the load since the ban began. From the United States it flies nonstop to Cap-Haïtien from Miami, Fort Lauderdale (three times a week since December 15, 2025), Boston and Newark, on Airbus A320 family aircraft. It also links Cap-Haïtien with Kingston, Punta Cana, Santiago and Santo Domingo. Schedules move with demand, so the days of the week are confirmed when you book.

American Airlines starts a daily Miami to Cap-Haïtien flight on November 1, 2026 on a Boeing 737 MAX 8. It leaves Miami at 10:15 am and lands at 12:15 pm; the return departs Cap-Haïtien at 1:15 pm and reaches Miami at 3:15 pm. That timing is designed for connections: New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Orlando and Montreal all connect through Miami on a single ticket. American's Port-au-Prince plans are provisional and depend on the FAA.

JetBlue and Spirit have both said they are considering Cap-Haïtien. Neither has announced a date. Delta and United have no Haiti service.

Picking the right departure airport

From South Florida, Fort Lauderdale is the easier airport and sits in Broward County, where most Haitian families in Florida live; Miami has more frequency once American starts. From New York and New Jersey, Newark has the only nonstop; JFK connects through Florida. From Boston, Sunrise flies nonstop a couple of days a week and American connects daily through Miami. From everywhere else, you connect in Miami.

If you are choosing between a nonstop on Sunrise on a day that does not suit you and a connection on American on the day you want, remember that a Sunrise cancellation can mean waiting two or three days for the next flight on a three-times-weekly route, while American can rebook you the next morning. For funerals and other fixed dates, that matters.

What it costs

Indicative one-way totals from our route pages, taxes and our service fee included, as of September 2026: from about $400 from Miami and Fort Lauderdale, around $550 to $600 from Newark and Boston, and $600 to $650 with a connection from Atlanta, Orlando or Philadelphia. December 15 to January 8 and July to August run 25 to 45 percent higher. These are indications, not quotes; the search shows you live prices.

Baggage, the part that catches people out

Sunrise Airways includes one checked bag of 23 kg (50 lb) on international fares. Extra bags cost $40 for the first, $65 for the second, and $115 each for the third and fourth. No single bag over 32 kg (70 lb) is accepted, and allowances are not pooled between passengers.

American Airlines includes one free checked bag of 50 lb to Haiti on every fare except Basic Economy, which pays $45 when prepaid online or $50 at the airport. A second bag costs $65 to $100. Overweight bags from 51 to 70 lb add $100.

Spirit, if and when it returns, includes no free checked bag, limits checked bags to 40 lb before overweight fees, and has historically guaranteed only one checked bag per passenger to Haiti between December 1 and January 10.

Barrels and boxes are accepted as checked pieces within the same limits, and they are the first things left behind when a flight is full. Our baggage guide compares every airline in detail.

Documents

US citizens need a passport valid for the length of the stay and pay a $10 tourist fee on arrival, in cash. Haitian citizens enter on a Haitian passport; if you have both, use the Haitian one entering Haiti and the US one entering the United States. Green card holders traveling on a Haitian passport must carry the green card. Children traveling with one parent should carry a notarized consent letter from the other parent. Airlines need your Secure Flight data (full name, date of birth, gender) exactly as on the passport you will travel on. See our documents guide for the details.

At Cap-Haïtien airport

The terminal is small. Check-in opens three hours before departure and closes 60 minutes before; be there when it opens. Every checked bag is weighed and hand-inspected, which is why a full flight takes so long to process. There are no jet bridges, the lounge is warm, and the snack bar is basic. On arrival you fill in a green immigration card, pay the tourist fee if you are on a foreign passport, and collect bags from a single carousel. Porters expect $2 to $5 per bag. Budget 30 to 60 minutes from landing to the curb.

Getting around the north

Central Cap-Haïtien is 10 to 20 minutes from the airport. Milot and the Citadelle are 40 to 60 minutes; Limbé about an hour; Ouanaminthe and the Dominican border at Dajabón two to three hours on Route Nationale 6. Agree taxi fares before you get in, or book one of Jetvala's vetted drivers, who meet you at arrivals with your name and charge a fixed price. Do not attempt the road to Port-au-Prince; our ground travel guide explains why.

Safety, honestly

The US State Department rates Haiti Level 4, Do Not Travel, in an advisory updated July 10, 2026. The north has been calmer than the capital, which is why airlines fly there, but the advisory applies to the whole country. Read it before you book. Register with STEP if you are a US citizen. Travel in daylight, keep phones out of sight in traffic, and let family know your movements. We would rather lose a booking than tell you Haiti is something it is not.

When to book

For Christmas and New Year, book by mid October. For summer, book by early May. For Fèt Gede (November 1 and 2) and Carnival (February), six weeks ahead is enough. Outside those peaks, two to four weeks ahead usually gets a good fare, and mid-week flights are cheaper and calmer than Sunday and Monday.

If you already hold a Port-au-Prince ticket

Any US airline ticket to Port-au-Prince dated before March 2, 2027 has been cancelled by the airline, and the airline owes you a full cash refund under US Department of Transportation rules. You do not have to accept a voucher. If you booked through Jetvala, message us and we will process the refund and rebook you to Cap-Haïtien in the same conversation.

Keep this page handy

Our Haiti flight status page shows the current NOTAM, the airport-by-airport and airline-by-airline picture and the date we last verified it. Bookmark it. When something changes, it will change there first.