Humanitarian aid collected across South Florida could soon begin reaching earthquake victims in Venezuela more quickly after the U.S. State Department announced that an airstrip at Simón Bolívar International Airport has been repaired.
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The announcement comes as private aviation companies in South Florida continue collecting thousands of pounds of donated supplies while navigating the logistical challenges of flying into the disaster-stricken country.
“It’s a tragedy what’s going on in Venezuela,” said César Rodríguez, a pilot with W Aviation. “We just wanted to help our brothers and sisters.”
Airport hangars throughout South Florida have transformed into makeshift warehouses, packed with medical supplies, first-aid kits, food and other humanitarian donations.
At Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, employees at W Aviation say the community response has exceeded expectations.
“You can see how many tons and tons of cargo we have right now,” Rodríguez said. “It literally overwhelmed us.”
The company said volunteers not only dropped off donations over the weekend but also stayed behind to help sort and pack boxes for shipment.
“We didn’t think about it twice about making this facility available,” said Alejandro Assor of W Aviation. “We have the space.”
Getting those supplies into Venezuela, however, has proven far more difficult.
“We have to get approval for the aircraft to land in Venezuela,” said Hugo Cortes of W Aviation.
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Cortes said delays in obtaining flight authorizations have slowed relief efforts, something he attributes to the enormous challenges facing officials on the ground.
“In my opinion, delaying flights for two to three days is actually affecting everything,” he said.
The company estimates it currently has roughly 30,000 pounds of humanitarian aid waiting to be delivered, including medical equipment, surgical supplies and first-aid kits.
Several relief flights will be needed to transport the cargo. Three flights have already departed, and a fourth aircraft was being loaded and was expected to leave the following day.
Other South Florida aviation companies are facing similar obstacles.
“We’ve been flying to the country ever since it opened up,” said Danny Lewkowicz, CEO of ExecuFlight.
Lewkowicz said one of his company’s early relief missions was initially denied permission to enter Venezuelan airspace, forcing the crew to divert to Curaçao before eventually receiving authorization.
“They didn’t let us go in initially, so we had to land in Curaçao, figure it out and then go back in,” he said. “It’s not that easy. It’s a little slow, possibly because they’re overwhelmed and not staffed right.”
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