Emergency Response Work

Helicopters play a critical role in humanitarian response when disasters cut off communities. Disasters can isolate entire towns and regions from ground transportation, for example by flooding roads or damaging bridges. In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, rapid access to food, clean water, connectivity devices, emergency power, shelter materials, medical supplies, and emergency personnel can mean the difference between life and death. Helicopters provide a unique ability to reach remote or inaccessible areas quickly, bypassing damaged infrastructure and delivering aid directly where it is needed most.

That’s where we come in. We have light, medium, and heavy airlift capacity, and we use them in disasters.

We integrate with national actors as a force multiplier, ensuring that our services are complementary to theirs and providing agile and effective service delivery to those who need it most. Because we regularly train with humanitarian personnel across Latin America and the Caribbean and have memberships in networks such as the OCHA-led Regional Group on Risks, Emergencies and Disasters for Latin America and the Caribbean (REDLAC), we maintain relationships in “blue sky” times that mean that we can effectively and responsively complement other actors when disaster strikes.

Beyond moving goods, our helicopters also move the teams from our organization and our partners. We deploy experienced staff, including from USA-1 and 2 and former USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA teams. These humanitarian professionals are able to support the evacuation of injured individuals, support search and rescue operations, and assess conditions on the ground to prioritize response efforts.

We’re also passionate about coordination. We make sure information from our assessment teams is fed into national, regional, and United Nations systems for information management, so that aid can be effectively targeted and prioritized and no individual or community is left behind.

After disaster strikes, every hour matters. Our team and our helicopters serve as an essential lifeline that restores connectivity, accelerates relief operations, and helps communities begin the path toward recovery and resilience.

Jamaica

Helicopters play a critical role in humanitarian response when disasters cut off

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Melissa in October 2025, RRI delivered life-saving aid to over 600,000 Jamaicans across the affected areas as the lead for Operation One Love, a consortium of four partner organizations. The consortium was one of the first international humanitarian actors on the ground following the storm. Working hand-in-hand with the Jamaican Defense Force (JDF) and Jamaican Constabulary Force (JCF), RRI facilitated the transfer of relief aid via over 300 flights and 95 ground distributions to reach over 65 unique distribution sites.

With funding from the U.S. Department of State and other donors, Operation One Love installed Starlinks, solar panels, and generators throughout affected areas and registered community focal points, which allowed consortium members to regularly contact them to monitor their needs. The team also moved almost 500,000 lbs of food, over 6,000 cases of water, and other relief supplies including tarps, hygiene kits, and solar lanterns. Our consortium partners in Jamaica were Development Impact Global Group (DIGG), MEDiC Corps, and LIFT Nonprofit Logistics, but we also worked with Acts of Mercy, Footprint Project, Fuel Relief Fund, the Good Shepherd Foundation, Project Dynamo, Samaritan’s Purse, and the US Army. Donors of goods moved by the consortium and our partners included UK Aid, the Government of Colombia, Sandals Foundation, Global Empowerment Mission (GEM), Food for the Poor (FFTP), the World Food Program (WFP), Sampers, and SpaceX/Starlink.

Haiti

HAA’s continued presence and operations in Haiti since 2014 has positioned us as a ready response actor when disaster strikes. In 2022, HAA leveraged funding from private donations to facilitate the air delivery of over 60,000 COVID vaccines to areas that were unreachable by ground. Haiti faced significant challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the delivery of vaccines and essential medical supplies, HAA played a pivotal role in fighting the global pandemic in the country. In the response to the 2021 earthquake in Haiti, HAA partnered with Haiti’s National Center of Ambulances (Centre Ambulancier National (CAN)), the Haitian Red Cross, the US Military through Joint Task Force Haiti, and Hero Client Rescue to coordinate the triage, treatment, and transport for patients arriving at the Port-au-Prince airport from the South.

HAA then pivoted to running an emergency triage, treatment, and transport site based at Port-au-Prince Airport. As Coast Guard and Navy helicopters brought in patients, HAA provided first responder care, identifying those needing transport, coordinating with receiving hospitals, and arranging their movement with either the helicopter or ground ambulances.

After two days of support and initial transport, HAA provided triage and treatment for 10 days, serving more than 240 people and transporting 49 by helicopter. Interagency coordination was the key to rapid scale up. The US Military leveraged their larger helicopters to transport multiple patients and families per trip while HAA utilized its single patient helicopter to transport patients from the airport triage and treatment to more remote receiving hospitals. CAN, Hero Client Rescue, and the Haitian Red Cross provided ground transport services to local receiving hospitals. HAA provided the local expertise on facility capability and treatment options, HERO Client Rescue and ancillary personnel from the tertiary care hospitals drove the triage/treatment/transport decisions with additional staff (medical and non-medical), resources, and advice supplied by the US Military.

Emergency Response Work