Agape Flights temporarily stops humanitarian supply flights to Haiti due to FAA order
Nov 13, 2024
Local nonprofit Agape Flights had to temporarily stop its humanitarian supply flights to Haiti after the Federal Aviation Administration grounded U.S. flights to the country.Living in Haiti, you cant say everything is okay, Jameson Toyo said.Toyo holds his home in Haiti close to his heart, but he cant get there right now.There is a lot of unrest where we live in Haiti, but I still have my family live at my house," Toyo said.On Wednesday, Toyo dropped off a load of bags at Agape Flights in Venice.We use Agape for everything that we need [to send] to Haiti, Toyo said. This is where we ship things for our family, for our ministry. Its been a great blessing for us.Agape Flights regularly flies into Haiti, and within the last few weeks, it flew back into the country's capital, Port-au-Prince, for the first time in months.I did a flight last week into Haiti, said Gregory Haman, the director of flight operations with Agape Flights. I had a crew there on a trip, so when the rule came down from the FAA, they were actually in the country for a trip. But they had to come back.The FAA placed a 30-day ban on flights from the U.S. to Haiti after reports that gangs shot at a Spirit Airlines flight that was getting ready to land in Port-au-Prince.A lot of the ministries and missionaries that we support down there, the things that were taking in, they have no other way to get them, anything from automotive parts to medications, Haman said. Really anything you could think of that they cant go down to a local market and buy, were taking in, and if it wasnt for us and operators like us, theyd have no way of getting those things.Haman said theyre in the process of applying for a humanitarian exemption to continue flights into the country.If were not moving the critical supplies that they need in on a weekly, then its really difficult for them, Haman said.