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we also fuel most of the commercial flights at the airport,”
says Aharon.
“It seemed to us that the airport authority and power
company should have recognized our role and given us far
greater priority.
“Underground fibre for internet made all the difference to
us with our last hurricane, as we were able to remain online
throughout the storm and afterwards. We didn’t expect
cellphone towers to go down, as it hadn’t happened before,
but they did this time and we were completely without local
communication for the first several days,”
Cabrera says, “Signature San Juan in Puerto Rico
experienced significant damage to the facility during
Hurricane Maria. Municipal power was out, requiring the
airport and FBO to operate without electricity for several
days, resulting in daylight only arrivals and departures.”
Hurricane tracking
While most aviation companies do everything they can to
avoid crossing the path of a hurricane, there are some men
and women who hunt hurricanes and fly straight into the eye
of the storm in the name of research.
Jonathan Shannon, public affairs specialist at the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s
(NOAA) Office of Marine and Aviation Operations says,
“Our Aircraft Operations Center provides a range of
airborne environmental data collection capabilities vital to
understanding the Earth, conserving and managing coastal
and marine resources, and protecting lives and property.
A helping hand
During September 2019, Hurricane
Dorian devastated the northern
islands of The Bahamas. Dorian was
the strongest hurricane on record
since records began in 1851. Winds of
up to 185mph destroyed property and
killed at least 65 people on the Abaco
and Grand Bahama Islands in what has
been defined as the largest natural
disaster in Bahamian history. The
business and general aviation industry
were quick to mobilize and offer their
help during this crisis.
Dorian lingered over the islands
for two days, creating a humanitarian
crisis. Knowing the devastation
wrought by Hurricane Maria in 2017
in his native Puerto Rico, Signature
West Palm Beach general manager
Jose Cabrera took the initiative to
coordinate relief efforts, establishing
a collection point for donated supplies
and helping to enlist aircraft operators
to make the hop from South Florida to
Freeport, Grand Bahama.
Elsewhere, Odyssey Aviation’s
FBO in The Bahamas capital Nassau
became the main launch site for the
Hurricane Dorian relief airlift. Working
with The Bahamas Government and its
multiple agencies, NGOs, aid workers
and support teams and overseen by
the Bahamas National Emergency
Management Agency, the Odyssey
team supported the coordination of
the first responders and managed
the procurement, organization and
distribution of the relief supplies. The
operator also created a makeshift
triage center to assist with the
evacuees arriving with immediate
medical attention, nourishment
and fluids.
NOAA’s Gulfstream-IV and
Lockheed P-3 on the ground in
St Croix, US Virgin Islands before
Hurricane Dorian tracking flights