Fri, Sep 02, 2005
As part of the federal
response to Hurricane Katrina, the DoT tells ANN that it has
organized a massive airlift operation and has arranged for hundreds
of buses and thousands of trucks to support evacuation and relief
efforts.
Through the around-the-clock work of the U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT), a massive airlift operation was launched,
Friday, at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport to
provide supplies and evacuate people from the hurricane stricken
region. The airport’s two open runways and air traffic
control facilities will sustain four flights per hour, operating
each hour through dusk this evening. Flights will continue through
the near future and will increase as continuing infrastructure
repairs are made.
“We’ve cleared the runways and are watching the
skies to make sure these humanitarian flights get in and out
safely,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y.
Mineta. “The airlines’ resounding offer of support will
help us move more people to safety and more supplies to relieve
suffering.”
The flights are using commercial aircraft supplied by the
nation’s airlines under the Secretary of
Transportation’s emergency authority granted during times of
a natural disaster. The number and type of commercial aircraft are
being coordinated among the airlines through the Air Transport
Association.
In addition to Louis Armstrong airport, the DOT is also
concentrating on restoring Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi, airport to
full operational status and repairing navigational aids throughout
the Gulf region to minimize the Hurricane’s impact on our
nation’s aviation system.
Over 60 federal transportation experts are supporting state and
local officials in assessing the damage to highways, railroads,
airports, transit systems, ports and pipelines and to support
planning for detours and repairs to these critical transportation
systems. DOT also has temporarily waived federal rules limiting the
hours that repair crews and truck drivers hauling gasoline, diesel
and jet fuel can work in response to the hurricane emergency.
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