State-sponsored flights bring missionaries, families back home from Haiti

Chantelle Navarro
·2 min read

Two more state-sponsored flights have touched down at Orlando International Airport on Sunday – bringing the total number of Floridians rescued now up to 48.

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Nine people landed on a flight around 7 pm. The group consisted mostly of families visiting relatives on the island nation. Then, around 1 pm, four Floridian missionaries returned home.

The groups were welcomed with a resource center set up in partnership with the airport, the county and the state’s Division of Emergency Management. The staff greeted them with this resource center, where they provided meals, information on health/wellness screenings and transportation.

This all comes after the political crisis turned into a humanitarian catastrophe. Local gangs took over the majority of Port-au-Prince, including the airport, earlier this month. Buildings were set on fire and many have become afraid to even leave their homes.

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“When you see people come back home and then they say that they can sleep at night they don’t have to worry about the gunfire,” said Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie. “They don’t have to worry about those things happening. That’s worth it all and that’s why we do what we do.”

But the state’s work is nowhere near done. There are still an estimated 480 Floridians still stuck there. The state is still trying to figure out a way to work with the Dominican government to try to expedite the travel process, but so far, they haven’t had any luck. The state’s teams will soon be circling in to rescue those Floridians stuck in Port-Au-Prince.

Guthrie anticipates that entering that area is certain to slow their mission down.

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“That’s going to be a slow, deliberate move to make sure that we don’t put anybody in danger or anybody in jeopardy,” said Guthrie.

Another state-sponsored flight should be taking off early tomorrow morning from Turks and Caicos with at least 11 more Floridians. That will likely land at OIA around 1 p.m. at the earliest.

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