Above: the new airport in Cap-Haitien
By the Caribbean Journal staff
The Caribbean has a new international airport.
After extensive renovations, Haiti’s Cap-Haitien International Airport has officially debuted with the inaugural American Airlines flight from Miami.
The blue-and-orange-hued airport comes with a new, extended runway for international flights, check-in areas passport control and arrival and departure lounges — a new Caribbean international airport.
“This is not just a plane landing, it is a development door that will open in the North,” Haiti President Michel Martelly said following the arrival of the first American Airlines flight.
American will be operating daily service between Miami and the destination, which is part of Haiti’s wider hopes for tourism development.
The airport includes a 7,500-foot-long air strip.
In a statement, Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe said the north of the country had “huge tourism potential” that the new airport would develop and integrate.
Thursday’s arrival represented the completion of a longer journey for the airport that began in earnest when former US Secretary of State and potential US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton flew the first large plane to touch down on Cap-Haitien’s new runway.