Humanitarian Air Logistics, is a nonprofit air service devoted primarily to providing first responder transportation of humanitarian supplies and support equipment to disaster sites. We will also provide vocational training for disadvantaged  young people in aviation and humanitarian relief operations.

We are considering several different locations in the United States. At those locations we will need a hangar large enough to handle wide-body aircraft and a runway long enough for those aircraft to safely operate from. Weather and other risks will be a factor in the final decision.

Because some of our aircraft are expected to come from the military, we would expect that a certain portion of our flight and ground crews would be former military personnel. We also expect another portion to come from the civilian sector. Keep in mind that we are an air-transportation company. The staff that will be doing the actual disaster site surveillance and ground relief operations will be from the U.S. Government and Non- Governmental Organizations (NGO’s).

When we are called to respond to an emergency, we expect to transport people, specialized equipment and supplies over long distances. These efforts require different types of aircraft to meet different needs. Just like fireman, we must be ready to respond on short notice and with all equipment available to support that response.

We expect to operate various fixed and rotary winged aircraft. 

We expect much of our income to come from the U.S. Government as reimbursement for supporting disaster efforts on their behalf. These efforts can be both domestic and international in nature.

For domestic emergencies, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the responsible agency while international emergencies are run through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

We can also expect some financial support from corporate sponsors and direct contributors.

A first responder situation is one in which you are one of the first on the scene of an emergency, disaster etc. For example – firemen are first responders to the scene of a fire. When called to support a disaster, Humanitarian Air Logistics (HAL) would transport U.S. Government and NGO first responders to the scene. HAL would also provide air support in the way of helicopters and fixed wing aircraft for search and rescue, and to assess’ immediate needs for sustaining life and property. These needs would be transmitted to a command center in the U.S. where additional HAL aircraft (and others as needed) would be dispatched to the disaster site whether it be domestic or international.

In many but not all cases they provide airlift and other support. Currently, the military is the only organization in the United States that can provide the airlift resources needed in a disaster “first responder” type of situation. However, it is not their primary mission and responding to humanitarian efforts can tax already tight military resources as evidenced by the statements from the United Nations and a Hurricane Katrina report found on the Home page. In addition, the following Public Laws apply to this question.

1. United States Code Title 10 Sec. 2561 gives the Secretary of Defense the authority to utilize DoD assets for humanitarian transportation but only if other sources are not readily available.

2. United States Code Title 31 Sec. 1535 [The Economy Act] requires the head of an agency to first determine if commercial services cannot be acquired as cheaply or conveniently as those of another government agency before ordering services from that Government agency.