seruriermarshal
09-02-2005, 10:49 AM
Airlines to Fly Up to 25,000 Refugees Out of New Orleans
The nation's airlines have been mobilized to fly up to 25,000 refugees out of New Orleans beginning today, under an emergency plan put into effect for the first time by the Department of Homeland Security.
Under the department's national response plan, 15 airlines, including 10 major commercial carriers, will transport up to 25,000 refugees from Louis Armstrong Airport outside New Orleans to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, airlines taking part in the plan said this morning.
The airlines are volunteering their aircraft and crew for the program, which is scheduled to begin at noon and run until this evening. The airlifts also will take place tomorrow and Sunday, the airlines said.
The Transportation Security Administration will secure the airport, according to a memo sent to the airlines. But airlines are being told to "bring everyone and everything you need," the memo said. They were told the status of jet fuel at the airport is "unclear" while power is intermittent.
The airlines have been asked to provide narrow-bodied planes, like Boeing 737 and Airbus A-320 models. The T.S.A. will screen passengers, as it normally does at airports, and it will create passenger lists for the airlines.
The airlines are donating their services without charge, participants said. It is the first time that the Department of Homeland Security has activated the plan, which is being supervised by Michael Jackson, a former Transportation Department official who is the assistant secretary for homeland security. Airlines have been told the airport can handle seven to nine flights per hour, and that the airport will operate under visiual flight rules. That means that flights must take place in relatively good weather, so that pilots can see the airport from a distance as they approach.
Some airlines said this morning that they were not even aware of the plan's existence. It is the first time the department has mobilized the airlines. The Pentagon has a program called the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, in which airlines contract to transport troops and materiel in peace time in return for the use of their planes during war time. However, that program pays the airlines millions of dollars a year in reimbursements.
The airlines participating in the New Orleans air lift include Alaska, American, United, ATA, AmericaWest. JetBlue, US Airways, Southwest, Northwest, Continental, Delta and American, as well as some charter carriers. Many of those carriers participate in the CRAF program, but JetBlue is not known to have participated in a government program before.
From (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/02/national/nationalspecial/02cnd-air.html)
The nation's airlines have been mobilized to fly up to 25,000 refugees out of New Orleans beginning today, under an emergency plan put into effect for the first time by the Department of Homeland Security.
Under the department's national response plan, 15 airlines, including 10 major commercial carriers, will transport up to 25,000 refugees from Louis Armstrong Airport outside New Orleans to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, airlines taking part in the plan said this morning.
The airlines are volunteering their aircraft and crew for the program, which is scheduled to begin at noon and run until this evening. The airlifts also will take place tomorrow and Sunday, the airlines said.
The Transportation Security Administration will secure the airport, according to a memo sent to the airlines. But airlines are being told to "bring everyone and everything you need," the memo said. They were told the status of jet fuel at the airport is "unclear" while power is intermittent.
The airlines have been asked to provide narrow-bodied planes, like Boeing 737 and Airbus A-320 models. The T.S.A. will screen passengers, as it normally does at airports, and it will create passenger lists for the airlines.
The airlines are donating their services without charge, participants said. It is the first time that the Department of Homeland Security has activated the plan, which is being supervised by Michael Jackson, a former Transportation Department official who is the assistant secretary for homeland security. Airlines have been told the airport can handle seven to nine flights per hour, and that the airport will operate under visiual flight rules. That means that flights must take place in relatively good weather, so that pilots can see the airport from a distance as they approach.
Some airlines said this morning that they were not even aware of the plan's existence. It is the first time the department has mobilized the airlines. The Pentagon has a program called the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, in which airlines contract to transport troops and materiel in peace time in return for the use of their planes during war time. However, that program pays the airlines millions of dollars a year in reimbursements.
The airlines participating in the New Orleans air lift include Alaska, American, United, ATA, AmericaWest. JetBlue, US Airways, Southwest, Northwest, Continental, Delta and American, as well as some charter carriers. Many of those carriers participate in the CRAF program, but JetBlue is not known to have participated in a government program before.
From (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/02/national/nationalspecial/02cnd-air.html)