Assistance with the Haiti Crisis and Moving Forward
Corporate Aviation Responding in Emergencies is a group of volunteers from the business aviation community that coordinates donated aircraft for critical transport during disasters. Operation Haiti has included over 715 flights with 3800 passengers and more than 1,400,000 lbs of critical supplies.
Passengers have included medical personnel, relief workers, newly adopted children, injured patients and missionaries. Over 125 aircraft have been activated for the program, flying more than $5,000,000 worth of flight hours.
The Corporate Aviation Responding in Emergencies’ network started making phone calls to coordinate missions the morning after the January 12 earthquake devastated Haiti, and within 48 hours the first flight arrived in the island nation.
Through relationships in the business aviation community, Corporate Aviation Responding in Emergencies was able to establish a complete supply chain from Ft Lauderdale and Santiago, DR to some of the outlying areas around Haiti’s capital city of Port Au Prince, including Jacmel, Leogane, Les Cayes, Pignon, Port de Paix and Jeremie. In addition, Corporate Aviation Responding in Emergencies provided critical passenger and supply transportation in and out of Port Au Prince prior to the Commercial Airlines resuming their service.
Corporate Aviation Responding in Emergencies is currently working on facilitating a sustained supply chain in Haiti via ship and truck. The groups is also assisting in the weekly rotation of aviation assets to bring medical personnel daily to small villages and return to a base camp in the evening thereby allowing medical access to a greater number of communities. If you have interest in assisting, please contact Marianne Stevenson for more details.
Although Corporate Aviation Responding in Emergencies is still involved in the facilitation of sustained relief in Haiti, the organization has begun the transformation into safer, more efficient and more effective organization, focused on the core mission of emergency air response when no other means of transportation are available.
With the assistance of NBAA, Corporate Aviation Responding in Emergencies has become incorporated, and is in the process of achieving the 501 c 3 status. Future objectives include a broad-based lessons learned/best practices forum in which military, large aid organization, and general aviation practices can be integrated for a better aviation response. Also, Corporate Aviation Responding in Emergencies will be creating a software program that will streamline the dispatch process and allow pilots to access the requests and assist in their own mission selection. There are also numerous other objectives that will be addressed during the next year.
For more information about Corporate Aviation Responding in Emergencies, or to offer assistance or ideas, please contact:
Marianne Stevenson
President C.A.R.E.
951-491-9827
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.