Congress Recognizes Bizav's Haiti Relief Role

The U.S. House and Senate passed resolutions recognizing the general aviation community, including business aviation, for relief flights to Haiti following the devastating January 12 earthquake that struck the island nation. NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen noted that the resolutions specifically mention 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. 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 the local airport there opened to humanitarian flights. There have been more than 715 flights to Haiti by business aircraft since the earthquake, carrying some 3,800 passengers and more than 1.4 million pounds of supplies.