TAMPA — More than 100 tons of food and water sat in a packed hangar this weekend waiting to be flown to Puerto Rico.
There are more warehouses just like this one across the bay area, stocked with diapers, food, generators and bottled water donated by Floridians to ease the suffering of millions. Volunteers on the devastated American territory are waiting, already coordinating with churches to ensure the so desperately needed goods go to the right people.
The only thing missing is the actual plane to deliver the supplies.
Volunteers say a mess of bureaucracy and false promises from a private charter company have left them exhausted, frustrated and desperate to get the items they've collected to the struggling island that was devastated by Hurricane Maria on Sept. 20.
"I've started to reach out to every celebrity I can think of," said Yvette Cowdrey, a former station manager for Frontier Airlines who volunteered to help organize the effort. "We are not looking for a handout, just for a connection. We have people in Puerto Rico waiting on us."
For nearly a week, volunteers say the Peruvian company that was supposed to come to ferry the supplies in a DC-8 hasn't shown up. They said delays caused by complicated regulations and unforeseen circumstances has stalled the relief effort.
"We have three warehouses filled with donations," Cowdrey said, "and the donations are still coming in. We are running out of space for it."
The DC-8 can hold the equivalent of 108 wooden pallets of supplies. The plan was to fly it back and forth from Tampa International Airport until all the supplies had been dropped off. The plane is just a few hours away in Greensboro, N.C., organizers said.
It was supposed to land on Monday. They were told on Saturday it would be coming that day, but some were losing faith in that ever happening.
"I hope we're not getting scammed," said Thomas Black, who owns T Black Aviation in Clearwater.
Black, who served in the Air Force for 23 years, said he's even contacted the Puerto Rican National Guard to see if it could fly in C-130 transport planes to pick up the supplies.
"They haven't said no, they just have to get authorization," Black said.
He's not sure how long that will take.
Organizer Max Chesler, a dispatcher who specializes in logistics for Menzies Airlines and is volunteering to help the effort, got off the phone Friday night with the charter company and relayed the latest delay from North Carolina.
"Now they are saying they can't fly to Puerto Rico because one of the crew members doesn't speak Spanish," Chesler said to a half dozen volunteers at the Pemco World Air Services hangar at Tampa International.
There has also been confusion about exactly what has been holding up the plane.
At one point some organizers thought the Jones Act, the 1920 regulation that requires goods be shipped from one American port to another with American crews and vessels, hampered the relief flights to San Juan. But others weren't sure if it applied to aircraft, and on Thursday the Trump administration waived that rule for Puerto Rico anyway.
Other volunteers believed that still more permits needed to be worked out, but none could explain those issues in detail.
For Cowdrey, who was born in Mayaguez and lived on the island for 20 years, the delays are heart wrenching.
"I've got family on the east and west sides of the island," she said. "My mom is in Río Piedras. I'm worried about her."
She hopes one of the celebrities she's tried to reach over social media might heed her pleas to help secure a plane. She has faith something will come through soon and continues to organize and collect supplies.
Her latest request? Adult bicycles, so people can travel despite gas shortages.
Original article can be found here ➤ http://www.tampabay.com
