WASHINGTON — Humanitarian groups are getting ready to mobilize to the Bahamas to help those devastated by Hurricane Dorian. It's a major effort about to get a big lift from pilots and owners of small airplanes.
"There's a lot of enthusiasm to go right now,” said Brian Kelly, an air traffic controller now orchestrating Operation Airdrop.
After Hurricane Florence last year, the group delivered more than 250,000 pounds of water and supplies across North Carolina. It's all thanks to a small air force of private planes and pilots with their sights now set on the Bahamas.
"They just want to volunteer and want to help,” said Kelly.
But the Bahamas is a special challenge. Floodwaters submerged the runway in Marsh Harbor and there are few other airports to choose from.
"We can't overload the airports so people don't fly in and say there's no space and bring their supplies back to the departure point,” said Kelly.
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Kelly says planes will leave from a Miami-area airport. Right now, there’s an airspace restriction in place and Operation Airdrop is waiting on the go-ahead from the Bahamian government. The group says it is in touch with the commonwealth government and will it still fly missions even if they must be scaled back.
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“The hope is to bring hope to the hopeless,” said Kelly.