Overview:
IBC Airways’ first worldwide passenger flight from Miami to Les Cayes on Nov. 10 marks a historic second for Haiti’s southern area. The milestone boosts native delight and opens new alternatives for tourism, funding and diaspora connectivity. The 664-mile route connects vacationers on to the long-isolated southern area in beneath two hours, providing sooner, cheaper entry regardless of the nation’s safety challenges.
LES CAYES, Haiti — In a second many described as “historic” and “miraculous,” IBC Airways touched down in Les Cayes Monday, Nov. 10, finishing its first-ever direct passenger flight from Miami to Haiti’s southern area.
Thirty passengers — most of them natives of the Nice South — stepped off the Embraer ERJ-145 jet onto the tarmac of Antoine Simon Worldwide Airport, greeted by cheers, drums and a purple carpet. The arrival marked greater than only a easy touchdown; it was the conclusion of a long-held dream for southern Haitians within the diaspora, who for many years endured expensive and dangerous journeys by way of Port-au-Prince to succeed in residence.
“This can be a victory for the Nice South,” mentioned Carmélie Ismaël Montuma, IBC Air’s consultant in Haiti. “It wasn’t straightforward, however we did it. Our subsequent passenger flight will happen on Wednesday.”
Montuma confirmed IBC’s weekly schedule, with flights going down each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. “Demand could be very excessive,” she instructed The Haitian Occasions. “ Proper now, it’s nonetheless tough to search out seats from Miami to Les Cayes.”
On its web site, flyibcair.com, IBC lists round-trip fares at about $870, up from $600 in earlier months on account of excessive demand. Nonetheless, the Fort Lauderdale-based airline’s fares are nonetheless notably decrease than these of its opponents flying by way of Cap-Haïtien, which might price as a lot as $1700 round-trip.
Tickets for IBC Airways’ inaugural flights are priced between $300 and $600 — far cheaper than different routes to Haiti.
A dream lastly realized with a flight a long time within the making
“I’m very joyful and proud to see this dream I’ve cherished for over 48 years — leaving america and touchdown in Les Cayes [directly] — come true,” mentioned Ed Lozama, a local of Cavaillon within the South Division and long-time media skilled from North Miami. “The 30 passengers traveled top notch and acquired a superb welcome.”
For others, the flight represents greater than comfort — it’s a bridge for renewed engagement between Haiti’s South and the surface world.
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“It’s an actual miracle,” mentioned Dan Shoemaker, president of the West Florida-based non secular group Reciprocal Ministries Worldwide (RMI).
“I’ve been ready for this flight since 1981. Many international church buildings have needed to go to Haiti, particularly the South. This flight opens up new potentialities for the area,” Shoemaker mentioned.
“For me, that is the largest occasion I’ve ever participated in within the South,” added Haitian American businessman Jeff Lozama, one other passenger on the flight. “A direct industrial flight from Miami to Les Cayes is one thing indescribable. We should proceed to help these efforts and make sure that this initiative is protected.”
Native authorities hail a brand new chapter as basis for broader growth
Municipal and regional leaders praised IBC Airways’ arrival as a milestone that would assist decentralize growth and scale back the nation’s dependence on Port-au-Prince.
“Eight months after the launch of operations to internationalize the airport, we’re very joyful to be experiencing this historic second,” mentioned Claire Daphné France, president of the interim municipal fee of Les Cayes.
“The airport serves the Nice South [including the South, Southeast, Grand’Anse and Nippes departments], the Palmes area, and a part of the West Division,” she mentioned. “We hope companies will proceed to enhance and that different airways will be a part of us.”
Group leaders mentioned the flight is barely a primary step towards a broader imaginative and prescient for financial revitalization and regional fairness.
For years, southern Haitians within the diaspora have pushed for a direct worldwide connection to Les Cayes, typically dealing with lengthy, expensive and dangerous journey by way of Port-au-Prince.
“It’s a small step, however an necessary one contemplating the larger image,” mentioned Astrel Joseph, member of the neighborhood advocacy initiative Nou Bouke Tann (“We’re bored with ready”). The airport challenge was a state dedication made in 2010 to scale back stress on Port-au-Prince and reduce the vulnerability of the area’s residents.
“We count on extra — a contemporary worldwide airport, a maritime platform, highways, industrial parks, and buyers,” he added.
Because the aircraft’s engines cooled on the Les Cayes runway, a wave of renewed optimism stuffed the air. For the primary time, southern Haitians might fly instantly from Miami to their hometowns—skipping the unpredictability of the capital. They’ve additionally been dealing with an extended and extra expensive journey by way of Cap-Haïtien Hugo Chavez Worldwide Airport— the one airport receiving worldwide flights till Monday, following an FAA ban final yr on the Port-au-Prince airport on account of safety considerations.
For IBC Airways, the second marked greater than a industrial milestone; for vacationers and residents alike, it symbolized reconnection — and hope for a area lengthy ready to take off.
The next are some photographs from IBC Airways’ inaugural Miami–Les Cayes flight:
