Several airlines have suspended flights to Haiti after a passenger plane from the US was hit by gunfire as it tried to land in Port-au-Prince.

Spirit Airlines Flight 951 from Fort Lauderdale in Florida was diverted to the neighbouring Dominican Republic, where it landed safely at Santiago Airport.

A flight attendant suffered minor injuries but no passengers were hurt in the attack, the second in three weeks on aircraft flying over Haiti’s startup distribution.

The incident comes as a recent prime minister took office in the crisis-hit country, which has been plagued by armed gangs and escalating violence.

Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said his priority was “restoring safety”, according to AFP information agency.

Notwithstanding the country’s “challenging circumstances”, he promised to put all of his vigor, skills and “patriotism at the service of the national factor”.

The businessman, who stood unsuccessfully for a seat in the Senate in 2015, studied at Boston University. He was installed by the country’s ruling council after the previous chief, Garry Conille, was ousted less than six months into the job.

The Spirit Airlines flight had been scheduled to land at Toussaint Louverture International Airport just before 12:00 (17:00 GMT) when it was hit.

Unverified video of the incident shared on social media appeared to display several bullet holes on the inside of the aircraft, where the crew sit during receive-off and landing.

Spirit Airlines said that damage “consistent with gunfire” had been found when the plane was inspected at Santiago Airport. The aircraft was taken out of percentage, Spirit added.

The airline said it had also suspended flights to Haiti “pending further evaluation”.

Two other US airlines, American Airlines and JetBlue, have also suspended flights to Haiti until at least Thursday.

The safety circumstance further deteriorated in Haiti in recent months. In October, gang members opened fire at a UN helicopter, causing some airlines to temporarily cancel flights to the Caribbean country.

A UN-backed policing mission, led by officers from Kenya, had begun in June in an attempt to wrest back control from gangs.

Spirit is a low-expense airline based in Florida which flies throughout the US, Caribbean and Latin America.