Air Partner Team Tackles Hurricane Evacuations

The emergency-planning division of charter operator and broker Air Partner International swung into action to rescue clients from Hurricane Dean’s destructive force. The London-based operation implemented evacuation plans that marshaled Gulfstream IVs, Airbus A320s, Boeing 737s and Saab 340s chartered at short notice to fly customers away from locations threatened by the huge storm. Many evacuees were employees of international financial services firms in the Cayman Islands and Jamaica’s Montego Bay. Air Partner’s emergency-planning team is preparing for what is expected to be an extremely active hurricane season in the Atlantic. Over the past 12 months, the company has evacuated almost 9,000 people from a variety of dangerous situations, including 7,500 civilians ensnared in last year’s war between Israeli and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon. “We believe the Lebanon situation generated the largest civilian evacuation from a war-torn country since Vietnam,” said Air Partner chief executive David Savile.