CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti (HCNN) -- A Boeing 757 aircraft landed on Thursday at the newly built international airport in Haiti's northern provincial town of Cap Haitien, as American Airlines operated its inaugural international flight to a Haitian airport other than the one in the Caribbean country's capital Port-au-Prince.
Haitian President Michel Martelly, Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, Tourism Minister Stephanie Villedrouin, the Minister of Public Works, and several other members of the government as well as high-ranking representatives of American Airlines attended the event at the new international airport renamed after late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.
Martelly, who wore a T-shirt with the legend "Cap Haitien is open for business", left Port-au-Prince on Wednesday evening to board, in Miami, Florida, the first international commercial flight to Haiti's second largest city of Cap Haitien.
"This is not just a flight, this is the beginning of a series of activities that will bring economic opportunities, investments, jobs and development to the whole greater northern region," Martelly told the Haitian-Caribbean News Network (HCNN) on Thursday.
"We are proud to be able to achieve this after several unsuccessful attempts by previous government, since 1952," said Martelly, who thanked the Venezuelan government, which provided most of the funds for the project.
The Cap -Haitien airport had been operated for decades as a local paved airfield serving several areas in the northern region.
American Airlines senior Vice-president, Art Torno, said his company had its sights on the Cap Haitien destination for a long time and expressed satisfaction with the realisation of such a dream.
Haitian President Michel Martelly, Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, Tourism Minister Stephanie Villedrouin, the Minister of Public Works, and several other members of the government as well as high-ranking representatives of American Airlines attended the event at the new international airport renamed after late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.
Martelly, who wore a T-shirt with the legend "Cap Haitien is open for business", left Port-au-Prince on Wednesday evening to board, in Miami, Florida, the first international commercial flight to Haiti's second largest city of Cap Haitien.
"This is not just a flight, this is the beginning of a series of activities that will bring economic opportunities, investments, jobs and development to the whole greater northern region," Martelly told the Haitian-Caribbean News Network (HCNN) on Thursday.
"We are proud to be able to achieve this after several unsuccessful attempts by previous government, since 1952," said Martelly, who thanked the Venezuelan government, which provided most of the funds for the project.
The Cap -Haitien airport had been operated for decades as a local paved airfield serving several areas in the northern region.
American Airlines senior Vice-president, Art Torno, said his company had its sights on the Cap Haitien destination for a long time and expressed satisfaction with the realisation of such a dream.
