Uniformed soldiers tried to keep order as long lines snaked through the mustard-and-brown terminal. Tempers flared when priority passengers (including families of military officers) pushed to the front, while others found that their seats had been sold. The chaos at Port-au-Prince's airport reflected the rising tensions in Haiti, as the last flights left the country before a U.S.-imposed ban ban on commercial air travel went into effect at midnight.
The flight shutdown was the latest move designed to further pressure the military leaders who ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Earlier in the week the Clinton Administration widened the freeze on Haitian financial...