Commercial flight from Haiti arrives at Miami International Airport

Miami, Florida – Monday was the day when the United States Department of State confirmed that three flights of rescued Americans had arrived from Haiti and that additional flights were anticipated to arrive on Tuesday.

There was at least one commercial flight that arrived at Miami International Airport from Haiti, and the passengers all had different accounts of how they arrived at the airport.

“We had to take a bus to Port-au-Prince, a five-hour drive,” said Rolldege Arius.

All of them arrived with a similar theme, which was that their desire to stay in Haiti was shattered when they had to flee danger in Haiti.

“A lot of people trying to leave,” said Rolldege, who is a former pro soccer player who now coaches.

Training was being provided by the Canadian of Haitian heritage who was present.

In response to the question of whether or not he was taken aback by the difficulty of his departure from the island, he responded, “A little bit, and no, we saw the situation.”

On Monday, the flight from Cap-Haitien to Miami was delayed by a few hours and had been in the works for several weeks.

In the aftermath of the attack on the airport in Port-au-Prince by armed gangs a few weeks ago, the airline had temporarily ceased operations.

During the event, a number of its aircraft were damaged by bullets, resulting in blisters.

However, the commercial flight that took place on Monday was the first opportunity for non-citizens who hold visas and green cards but are not qualified for rescue charters sponsored by the United States Department of State or the state of Florida to take flight.

Florida’s point man on those issues discussed the daily nightmare of logistics that must be overcome to return folks home safely.

“We try to rush around because this particular airport has no runway lights, so they have to be off the ground there by sunset,” said Florida Emergency Management Manager Kevin Guthrie.