The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and four other aviation organizations announced that they stand ready to bring their resources into the fight to help mitigate the public-health threat that has spread disease worldwide and has significantly impacted the world’s economy.
As the United States marshals its response, the five aviation-industry groups made known their availability “to assist in any way possible” in a March 16 letter to Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao.
“The general and business aviation industries are comprised of a diverse fleet, capable of rapidly responding to needs in every part of the country and transporting time-sensitive supplies, medical and testing equipment, organ transplants, and key personnel and patients to over 5,000 general aviation airports,” they wrote. In addition to AOPA, the groups signing the letter included the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Helicopter Association International, the National Air Transportation Association, and the National Business Aviation Association.
The letter informed Chao that entities the five associations represent have actively participated in past disaster relief, carrying out missions including evacuation flights, delivering supplies, and surveying damage—the efforts facilitated by their “considerable experience operating during emergencies.”
In the current crisis, they wrote, the general aviation industry has been proactive, distributing key information about coronavirus response needs to members, disseminating best practices, and making subject-matter experts available for consultation.
The associations expressed their willingness to “be available and fully utilized as a critical component of our nation’s response to this challenge.”
