US halts non-aid flights to Haiti

Washington: The US Federal Aviation Administration halted all civilian flights to Haiti on Friday after some flights spent hours circling while awaiting permission to land at an already crowded airport that lacked sufficient supplies for refuelling.

The "ground stop" on charter flights was in effect at least until 6 pm (0430 IST), at which time officials would reassess the situation, said a US official.

The FAA halted flights earlier at the request of the Haitian government, which said there was no more room on ramps for planes to unload their cargo and that some planes on the ground at Toussaint L'Ouverture International Airport did not have enough fuel to leave.

Military officials said government aid flights to Haiti were resumed yesterday afternoon. Civilian aid flights that were in the air before the ground stop  continued to land throughout the day, but they often had to circle the Port-au-Prince airport for as long as two hours, the official said.

Several aid flights were diverted to Santa Domingo and later sent back to the United States, according to advisories posted online by the FAA.

There were 11 flights circling when the ground stop went into effect,and eventually that number was down to four flights, the official said.