American Airlines Flight 377 from Miami to Port-au-Prince was full this morning, the first commercial passenger flight to fly into the devastated country since the earthquake on January 12th.
The flight took off just before 7:30 a.m. but passengers weren't taking any chances and had all arrived to the airport as early as 5 a.m.
"I'm very happy. Last night I couldn't sleep because I am ready to go," said Emanus Euxumat.
Euxumat lives in Haiti, but was in Miami visiting at the time of the earthquake. His wife and son have been in Haiti alone all this time,
"I cannot do anything. Just look, just wait," he said. "It's a great day for me. My family is okay and my house is okay. I have 20 people now living in my house."
Many passengers said a milestone has been reached and the fact that flights are resuming to Haiti can only mean that the recovery process is well on its way. That point was driven home when the pilot opened the window of the cockpit and waved a Haitian flag prior to departing.
American will offer three daily flights to Haiti out of South Florida, two out of Miami and one out of Fort Lauderdale.
Local
Other airlines will soon follow suit. Spirit has a regular commercial flight scheduled from Fort Lauderdale to Port-au-Prince on Monday, pending FAA approval.
