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Planes loaded with emergency relief for Haiti struggle to land
Martin Bentham, Home Affairs Editor15 Jan 2010
Relief workers were today facing a desperate battle to distribute aid to Haiti as planes bringing emergency supplies struggled to land at the airport in Port-au-Prince.
Some planes were forced to circle in the air for hours because of a lack of landing space at the overcrowded airport.
Other aircraft had to be diverted to Florida or Santa Domingo in the Dominican Republic as problems clearing enough room on the tarmac blighted the aid operation.
Among the difficulties faced by US military air traffic controllers in charge of the relief effort was the lack of a control tower or radar, combined with shortages of fuel and even staircases to access planes.
The Haitian government said that there was no room on ramps for planes to unload their cargo and that some aircraft on the ground did not have enough fuel to leave.
“There's only so much concrete,” US Air Force Colonel Buck Elton said. “It's a constant puzzle of trying to move aircraft in and out.”
The Christian relief organisation Samaritan's Purse had three charter planes turned back.
“I don't think the airport has the capacity to take it,” said its president Franklin Graham.
“We're looking at taking a ship out of Fort Lauderdale and putting everything on the ship. It'll take two days to get there, but I'm afraid it's going to take longer to try and go through the airport.”
Although runway lights were working in Port-au-Prince for flights to continue through the night, pilots were having to land by sight because of the lack of radar.
US officials said that although around 120 flights had landed, commercial charters used to haul aid supplies were causing hold-ups because, unlike military planes, they took a long time to unload.
Outside the airport, aid distribution was also being further hampered because roads were blocked by rubble and smashed cars, while normal communications were cut off.
The port, which might otherwise have been able to ease the burden on the airport, was too badly damaged to handle cargo.
In a bid to accelerate the aid effort, the US was sending 3,500 soldiers, 300 medical personnel, several ships and 2,200 Marines to Haiti with the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson due today to serve as a “floating airport” for relief operations by its 19 helicopters.
Hollywood stars (and even Tiger Woods) race to donate millions
The plight of the earthquake victims has triggered an unprecedented response from film and music stars.
The speed of the celebrity response has already eclipsed that for previous natural disasters, such as the Asian tsunami in 2004.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were the first to donate, with a $1 million (£611,000) pledge from their foundation to Doctors Without Borders.
Haiti-born hip hop star Wyclef Jean launched a texting campaign, calling on fans to each donate $5 (£3) to his Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund.
Jean has already raised more than $1 million for the disaster relief effort and is in Haiti “giving aid and assessing the situation”, according to his yele.org website.
Even disgraced golfer Tiger Woods has come out of the woodwork to donate $3 million.
George Clooney will host a telethon on MTV next week to raise funds for victims, where he is expected to be joined by many fellow A-listers.
Pop star Shakira called on her fans to make donations, to be channelled through Unicef and Wyclef Jean's foundation.
Coldplay singer Chris Martin called for donations through Oxfam, while Oprah Winfrey asked viewers of her show to give to the Red Cross.
Actor Ben Stiller, who has been raising money for a school in Ceverine in Haiti through Save the Children, made an appeal for money on CNN's Larry King Live show.
America's First Lady Michelle Obama also made a public appeal, for donations to a texting campaign which has so far raised £3.6 million for the Red Cross.
Cycling legend Lance Armstrong's LiveStrong Foundation pledged $250,000 (£153,000) to Doctors Without Borders and Partners In Health.
Alistair Foster
