Castle & Cooke Aviation and its general aviation partners are continuing to provide aid to Maui following the wildfires that devastated the island back in early August.
Planet 9, long-time tenant of Castle & Cooke Aviation, has assisted in the provision of aid, ferrying supplies from the mainland to Hawaii, filling a Bombardier Global Express with relief supplies and basic necessities such as water and toiletries.
Additionally, Castle & Cooke Aviation teamed up with Avfuel Corporation to donate nearly 3,000 gallons of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel for the trans-pacific trip.
“When we think of general aviation, we think of flexibility,” said Tony Marlow, President of Aviation Operations and Business Development, Castle & Cooke Aviation. “With our two locations, that flexibility is typically used to facilitate efficient travel for business and leisure. However, the flexibility that general aviation affords is of even greater importance when you think of assistance in and after emergency situations.
“Its flexibility to fly around the clock without the constraints of a schedule; and the flexibility to fly into remote locations that may be cut off from major infrastructure, as we saw with periods of isolation for the town of Lahaina,” said Marlow.
Staff at Castle & Cooke’s Honolulu (PHNL) also handled several helicopter flights by tour operator Rainbow Helicopters for the transportation of supplies to Maui, donating water and jet fuel to support the relief flights. Castle & Cooke continues its support of these relief flights to this day.
“I am thankful for our teams at Honolulu PHNL (Honolulu) and KVNY (California) who have worked tirelessly over the last month to handle needs on the ground as our operator partners take to the sky to support Maui,” added Marlow.
“What we’ve seen out of Maui is absolutely heartbreaking. As aviators – specifically in the general aviation sector – we recognise our significant role in assisting others by connecting communities more safely and efficiently than would otherwise be possible. This can look like round-the-clock flight handling, or access to remote locations, like Kapalua Airport, which only offers a single runway, but was mere minutes from the fire,” he said.
Image: Castle & Cooke Aviation
