SANFORD, Fla. — The tropical weather threatening the Bahamas is forcing a Central Florida based airline to change its plans to support the Abaco Islands.
- Tropical Storm Humberto threatening relief trip to Bahamas
- Air Unlimited support taking break, regrouping & brainstorming
For years, Air Unlimited specialized in daily flights to the Abaco Islands. That was before Hurricane Dorian. That region was a big part of Air Unlimited's success as a company, so their future remains to be seen. For now, they're changing course.
“Our business today is a lot different than what it was,” said Air Unlimited Co-Founder, Mark Neubauer.
Now, they coordinate flights to get engineers, doctors, medication, or whatever the Abacos need to recover. The airline operates a command center out of the Orlando Sanford Airport coordinating relief flights. Their hangar is filled with donated items for Bahamians. Their mission is beginning to change.
Neubauer explained, “We are getting more targeted with specific needs of people within the Abacos rather than it being an initial relief effort for water or food and supplies."
The weather is forcing Air Unlimited to stop daily relief flights this weekend. They'll use the time to give the support team a break, regroup, and brainstorm a plan of action once they can take flight again.
"It is just amazing to me how powerful that human spirit is to get that mission accomplished, and I really thank the people so much that have donated to our relief effort," Neubauer said.
Air Unlimited says they're just one piece of the Abaco flight support organization. They're taking donations for aircraft fuel to keep these relief missions going. They recommend following Air Unlimited on Facebook to see a list of specific needs they need for Bahamians.
People can drop off relief supplies to any Florida Paints location.