NBAA Contributes to Hurricane Melissa Relief with HERO Database
In response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has activated its Humanitarian Emergency Response Operator (HERO) Database.
The database features a list of business aviation professionals who take part in disaster-response mobilization and gives their basic information to organizations coordinating relief efforts.
Other organizations are also taking donations from the business aviation community to help contribute to relief efforts as they find other ways to help, like airlifting supplies. These organizations include:
Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport (KIN) remained the only Jamaican airport open to limited commercial and general aviation operations as of October 30, 2025. That facility lies approximately 525 nautical miles (nm) from Florida’s Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE).
Doug Carr, NBAA senior vice president of safety, security, sustainability and international operations, noted several factors that made long-range commercial and business aircraft the best option for initial humanitarian operations. These factors include:
- Distance
- Uncertainty about the condition of the airport
- Availability of the airport’s fuel supplies
“Additionally, requests for overflight permits to transit Cuban airspace may be delayed,” Carr added, “Operators must also secure necessary permission to fly into Jamaica.”
Using its Boeing 757, disaster response organization Samaritan’s Purse flew into Kingston with 38,000 lbs of supplies, including:
- Shelter tarps
- Solar lights
- Medical supplies
- Water filtration systems
Officials are also working to reopen Ian Fleming International Airport (OCJ) in Ocho Rios. The country’s third major airport, Montego Bay-Sangster International Airport (MBJ) “was very badly hit,” said Nari Williams-Singh, director general of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA).
“[W]e have all hands on deck to get up and running as quickly as possible,” he added in a statement, “We need to collaborate with our airport operators and the Airports Authority of Jamaica; Jamaica Customs Agency; the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency; and all relevant entities. We are all coordinated, because it’s really an ecosystem and we all have to be in sync.”
Melissa made landfall October 28, 2025 in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane and the strongest storm to hit the country. Media reports indicate more than half a million residents are without power, with communications across the island severely compromised.
There has also been damage to:
- Homes
- Roads
- Hospitals
- Infrastructure
- Other facilities