TFHA01: Haiti Air Ops Prioritization

UNCLAS STATE 006391 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AEMR ASEC CASC KFLO MARR PREL PINR AMGT HA SUBJECT: TFHA01: Haiti Air Ops Prioritization ¶1. Acting at the request of the Government of Haiti, the U.S. Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) established the Haiti Flight Operations Coordination Center (HFOCC) to manage the air traffic and speed up the delivery of humanitarian aid. In discussions with foreign government officials, bureaus should highlight the ICAO mandated procedures, including the requirement for IFR flight plans, obtaining arrival slot times from the Haiti Flight Operations Coordination Center at 001-850- 283-5477 prior to departure, and notice that fuel and other ground support services may be unavailable. Operators should carry enough fuel into Haiti to allow them to depart. ¶2. Posts should also highlight that foreign state aircraft entering U.S. airspace, before or after traveling to Haiti, continue to require a diplomatic clearance number issued by the Department. Early on January 16, PM/ISO distributed the NOTAM and diplomatic clearance guidance to all foreign missions in the U.S. that routinely fly state aircraft into and through the United States. ¶3. In those rare cases with specific objective criteria -- importance to the humanitarian mission or critical foreign policy need -- that require urgent prioritization, the bureau receiving the request should contact WHA DAS Julissa Reynoso at ReynosoJ@State.Gov or 202-647-6613 or via the Ops Center at 202- 647-1512 after hours, and copy TaskForce-1@state.gov. The request should include the justification for urgent prioritization, and information regarding the current landing slot (if any),transport tail number, call sign, and requested time/date of prioritization. Posts are urged not to contact SOUTHCOM directly on such matters. ¶4. WHA DAS Reynoso will determine whether the request fits the justification for urgent prioritization, consulting as needed with interested bureaus. We will then communicate the Department of State's position on those requests meeting the criteria to SOUTHCOM via the SOUTHCOM Action Officer on Task Force 1. If a request does not fit the criteria or if DoD/SOUTHCOM is unable to prioritize the flight, DAS Reynoso will inform the requesting bureau. ¶5. So posts are aware, despite media reports to the contrary, U.S. military aircraft have utilized only about 30% of the landing slots since this system was put in place. The airport's daily aircraft load has increased roughly tenfold vs. pre-crisis numbers under these procedures and U.S. involvement in air traffic management. We also note that this increase means that airport operations are stretched to the limit and any minor glitches, e.g. weather problems or an aircraft which takes too long to unload, can cause significant delays or flight diversions. Posts and bureaus should also recommend to requestors that they switch to a smaller aircraft which can be more easily accommodated or consider flying to the Dominican Republic and going overland to Haiti. ¶6. Minimized considered. CLINTON