Airlink organizes Haiti disaster response

Rapid-response humanitarian relief organization Airlink has mobilized a disaster response following the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Saint-Louis-du-Sud, Haiti, on Aug. 14. While Airlink typically relies on donated lifts from air carriers, the organization is currently transporting supplies through checked baggage on scheduled narrowbody flights while considering potential charter options and sea freight. While scheduled narrowbody capacity is the only available option, large amounts of palletized cargo can’t fit on narrowbody aircraft, Stephanie Steege, director of humanitarian programs at Airlink, told Air Cargo World . However, unpalletized cargo sent into a disaster area is likely to get lost, stolen or damaged. [caption id="attachment_68484" align="alignright" width="357"] Photo/Jetblue[/caption] “For the kinds of supplies that need to be sent, really the only solution is freighters,” Steege said. “Normally in an emergency, we would try and utilize passenger belly capacity to the extent that we can and that’s not really an option … the large amounts of palletized cargo that are going in [can’t fit] on a narrowbody aircraft, which narrowbodies are what's going in [to Port-au-Prince].” To navigate this challenge, the organization has been working with low-cost carrier JetBlue as supplies are instead being carried by passengers through checked baggage, including medical supplies, water filters and solar lights, Steege said. In terms of donated capacity, a flight has been donated from Montreal-based Air Canada, which is expected to transport emergency food kits this week. Airlink, with roughly 100 tonnes of aid waiting to be transported, is discussing charter options with Amerijet, the biggest operator at Port-au-Prince (PAP), Steege added. However, since charters are expensive, she noted that Airlink would only request a charter if there were no other commercial options. “The lack of donated capacity right now isn’t a knock on air carriers, it’s just testament to the serious constraints and high demand for lift from the U.S. and from Latin America into Haiti,” Steege said. “When there’s [a] confluence of low availability of donated capacity, and then also a constrained air market in general, that’s really where Airlink’s disaster response fund comes in. … It helps us fill those gaps and reduce the financial and logistic barriers to entry for [non-government organizations] (NGOs) that can’t afford the really high price of airfreight right now.” Currently, rates are three to four times higher than pre-pandemic, she added. In turn, Airlink is looking into the potential of transporting aid via sea freight for the first time in the organization’s history. “In the Caribbean in particular, sea freight starts to catch up with air freight at about one to two weeks post-disaster,” Steege said. “Right now, you can’t even book a cargo flight less than a week out, so then does it make more sense to put something on a barge that’s going to get there in four to six days?” Although there are a handful of airports in Haiti, Airlink is organizing response into PAP, which is fully operational and running at full capacity except for a small break during Tropical Storm Grace, Steege said. Despite being fully active, Cap-Haitien (CAP) is too far north to be useful while other airports are small and are only able to serve light, domestic aircraft and lack customs infrastructure, she added. Despite capacity constraints, the last mile remains the biggest challenge for NGOs. “Even if you’re sending supplies by sea, they all have to go into Port-au-Prince, and you have to successfully clear customs, and it’s still a matter of transporting your shipment to … wherever it needs to go,” Steege said. “So, there have been some nonprofit and government actors on the ground that are providing airlift by helicopter and by light aircraft [like] Cessnas.” To make a donation or monetary contribution, visit the Airlink website .

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