On its way to perform an evacuation flight, Air Charter Service's Miami office recently filled up an empty passenger aircraft with key supplies it had purchased to help those in need following Hurricane Dorian.
Along with several evacuation flights on both private jets and larger aircraft, as well as relief goods charters that the company had arranged, ACS wanted to donate some of its own aid to the victims in the Bahamas. The company flew the cargo, comprising hundreds of kilos of supplies for the Bahamians, into the islands on an empty leg of a passenger flight.
Private jets manager Jordan Hinsch says: “A colleague and I flew down to Great Harbour Cay on the King Air 100. As a company we donate a lot of money to charity, and we arrange so many flights to disaster-hit regions, but always with other people's cargo, so we just thought that we should be more hands-on this time. Along with what we had seen the relief agencies ask for, we took advice from the National Emergency Management Agency for the Bahamas as to what was most needed in the region.
“We went to the local wholesale store here in Miami and stocked up on hundreds of dollars' worth of goods. On the flight we took stocks of bottled water, first aid kits, dry milk powder, rice, dog food, bars of soap, hand sanitiser, antibiotics, beans, tuna, canned fruit, toothpaste as well as baby and feminine products. When we got there we helped offload the aircraft and carry the supplies into the storage room at the airport, from where they would be best distributed.”

ACS Group CEO Justin Bowman adds: “The team in Miami really pulled together for this. I think the fact that it was so close to home, and the hurricane almost hit them in Miami, meant they felt they wanted to help. As Jordan says, we always arrange relief charters on behalf of others, but it is nice to be able do our own bit.”