Congress Honors Business Aviation’s Role in Haiti Earthquake Relief

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) welcomed resolution passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, recognizing the entire general aviation community, including business aviation, in efforts to provide relief for the people of Haiti, following the devastating January 12, 2010, earthquake that struck the island nation. The Senate passed its version of the bill last week.
 
NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen noted the resolutions specifically mentioned how business aircraft were vital to the earthquake-response effort, transporting cargo, supplies and medical specialists into areas impacted by the natural disaster and delivering victims to medical clinics for treatment.
 
“When natural disasters strike, the business aviation community snaps into action, delivering relief to people and communities in need,” he said. “We thank Congress for recognizing the industry’s important role in disaster-response with this resolution, and we applaud NBAA Members for their outpouring of generosity in the wake of the earthquake.”
 
Bolen explained that business aircraft often reach outlying communities through small, rural airports – a benefit demonstrated in Haiti-relief missions, in which community airports and even roads were used to reach earthquake victims.
 
Nearly 100 general aviation aircraft are estimated to have flown humanitarian missions from the U.S. to the Haitian capital Port-Au-Prince in the first days after a local airport opened to humanitarian flights. There have been more than 715 flights to Haiti by business aircraft since the earthquake, bringing 3,800 passengers and more than 1,400,000 pounds of critical supplies to relief groups on the island.

The value of business aviation in providing relief to people and communities in crisis has been a central theme of the No Plane No Gain advocacy campaign, sponsored by NBAA and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. These efforts are highlighted on the campaign web site at www.noplanenogain.org.

For more information on business aviation’s role in the Haiti relief efforts, visit www.nbaa.org/haiti.

View copies of the House and Senate resolutions at www.nbaa.org/news/2010/haiti/business-aviation-in-action.