Last Flight Out Completes Haiti Isolation : Caribbean: Tickets are hard-won as Air France becomes the last carrier to suspend operations in that nation.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The isolation of this Caribbean nation from the outside world, at least by air, was complete Saturday as the last scheduled flight left Haiti.
The Air France jet that took off in the early afternoon for the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe was the airline’s last, bringing it into line with other carriers who stopped flying to Haiti late last month after President Clinton tightened sanctions against Haiti’s military leaders.
The United States and the United Nations imposed the sanctions and other economic embargoes to try to unseat the army chiefs, led by Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras, who took power in a military coup almost three years ago. So far, Cedras has shown no intention of leaving and allowing the return of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
People leaving and trying to leave Saturday said money and contacts were of utmost importance in securing seats.
Although scores of people had been desperately trying to get a place on the last flight, one man said he was able to buy a ticket Friday by paying twice the normal price.
Long lines formed early Saturday at the Port-au-Prince airport as passengers sought to confirm their bookings aboard the final commercial flight with 141 seats. One passenger carried a rooster inside a small basket.
“I’m happy to leave this troubled country,†said Alain Daniel, 19, a Haitian who was going to Canada to study economics. “I don’t think for a good many years there will be a stable Haiti.â€
Two anxious Dutch families said their consulate had arranged a meeting for them with senior Air France officials Saturday morning to try to get them a reservation. One of them, aid worker Alieke Catsburg, said they had waited for hours to get on the penultimate flight but had been unable to get a space, despite having tickets, because of huge competition for seats.
“They overbooked terribly,†she said. “We were quite angry.â€
Competition to get on Saturday’s flight did not seem nearly as hectic as earlier this week, when hundreds fought for places.
“There’s not a lot of panic. People are pretty confident they can get out somehow,†said Canadian diplomat Tim Morson.
Nevertheless, there were still some frayed tempers and pushing and shoving between soldiers and travelers desperate to get into the airport check-in area.
Although the plane’s departure in theory cuts Haiti off from the rest of the world, there are still ways to enter and exit the country, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic.
Diplomats and sources close to the military said Haiti’s border with the Dominican Republic is still passable, and Haiti’s military-backed authorities are granting landing rights to private charter flights.
But the tough sanctions are affecting Haiti in other ways. The amount of electricity being distributed by the state-run power company has fallen spectacularly in the past week.
Many neighborhoods now receive fewer than six hours of electricity a day, compared to the 20 hours a day they were getting in May, June and the first half of July.
Haitian experts said the recent sharp drop came because the water level in the country’s main hydroelectric dam had fallen, but there was no way to confirm this.
The amount of power being given is still far above the dark days of March and April, when most areas of Port-au-Prince were getting two or three hours of electricity per week.
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