Haiti airport to reopen for big carriers on Friday

American Airlines will begin flying to Port-au-Prince on  Feb. 19, with Air Canada and Air France to follow shortly  after, Brigadier General Darryl Burke, vice commander of Air  Forces Southern, said in an interview over the weekend.

The airport was turned over almost entirely to disaster  relief and military flights after the Jan. 12 earthquake, which  destroyed hundreds of buildings in the capital, Port-au-Prince,  and killed 212,000 people.

The quake caused serious damage to the airport’s terminal.  Crews have repaired airport lighting and the part of the  terminal that the airlines will use, Burke said.

“On the 19th American Airlines will resume operations in  the west portion of the terminal,” Burke said. “Structural  engineers have checked out the terminal to make sure it’s safe  and it is safe to operate out of, and they’re ready to go.”