Air Partner has carried out a number of urgent freight charters across the Caribbean to support the relief efforts in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
The Freight team was called upon to ensure that essential cargo such as generators, four wheel drive vehicles, bottled water and humanitarian aid reached those affected in the most efficient and time effective way possible.
Aircraft used ranged from private jets to Antonov AN-124s, one of which was among the first aircraft to land at San Juan Airport in Puerto Rico after it reopened.
Air Partner director of freight, Mike Hill says: “Air Partner’s Freight team has extensive experience in arranging time-critical air shipments and understand that speed is of the essence in circumstances such as these.”
“Assessing the current state of the airport infrastructure following such hurricane damage is often an important issue, but we worked around the clock to ensure that our customers’ cargo was delivered to those in need as quickly as possible. Our thoughts are with all of those who have been affected.”
The flights were operated on behalf of governments, NGOs, charities and commercial entities to a number of islands in the region including Puerto Rico, Cuba and Guadeloupe.
Many islands suffered communication difficulties in the immediate aftermath of the storms, and Air Partner says its representatives on the ground closely coordinated cargo delivery, aircraft loading, aircraft handling and landing requests.
It says forward planning was crucial to ensure successful operation of these flights due to aircraft availability changing at very short notice.
