As UN appeals for aid for Haiti, Pentagon sends in another military flight with supplies

With only one helicopter at its disposal, Skau said WFP’s operations and that of other aid agencies would benefit greatly from the reopening of Port-au-Prince’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport and the main seaport.

“We’re hoping, having seen that the international airport opened for one flight, that that can be sustained and expanded,” Skau said, referring to a U.S. Air Force C-130 military plane that flew into the airport Tuesday.

On Thursday, two flights carrying cargo arrived in Port-au-Prince. One flight, was operated by Global X out of Miami on behalf of the State Department to transport desperately needed supplies for the Haiti National Police, three sources told The Miami Herald. The second was a charter flight coordinated by the Pentagon packed with 20 pallets of oral rehydration fluid that will be used to help more than 10,000 people fight a deadly cholera outbreak. According to the Pan American Health Organization, there have been 82,875 suspected cases since the disease’s resurgence in Haiti two years ago.

The pallets were transported by the Doral-based U.S. Southern Command on behalf of Hope for Haiti, a nonprofit working in the southern region that is positioning supplies to cope with the increased migration from the capital.

Hope for Haiti CEO Skyler Badenoch said the rehydration fluid, Pedialyte, was donated by MAP International, the non-profit group based in Georgia, and the donation and delivery will play a vital role in their efforts to ensure the health and well-being of Haitian children and families.

Unlike Tuesday’s flight, the one that landed Thursday went virtually unnoticed, landing as Haitians in the capital were consumed by the constant gunfire that could be heard in all parts of downtown Port-au-Prince, and the other event of the day: the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry and the swearing in of a new nine-member presidential transitional council that will now take the reins of governance.

The Southern Command said the flight into Haiti’s main airport, which hasn’t seen commercial air traffic since major U.S. carriers announced a suspension of service on March 4, marks “an important step toward the resumption of flights into Haiti.”

American Airlines, Spirit and JetBlue, which all fly into Port-au-Prince, continue to cite the civil unrest as the reasons they have not resumed commercial daily service.

The Southern Command, which is expected to fly more humanitarian aid into the country, is hoping to show that flights can once resume safely.

The reopening of the international airport and the main seaport, which has also been shut down since May 5, would help the U.N. food agency step up “logistical support in terms of having cargo flights coming in” and having vessels move goods along the coast, given that roads remain closed and under gang control, Skau said.

Acknowledging Thursday’s installation of Haiti’s new transitional presidential council, Skau said the food agency views it as progress and hopes that it can pave the way for the multinational security support force that is supposed to be led by Kenya.

“But I think it’s important to state here that political and security support really need to be matched by a robust humanitarian response,” he said. “These tracks cannot be exclusive. They need to move in parallel, and they won’t be success on the political unless we also step up our assistance to the people.”