Yesterday, LAS transported meals, snacks, and water to approximately 300 truckers stranded in Hope due to the historic flooding and mudslides that wiped away stretches of the Coquihalla and Highway 99.
November’s record-breaking rainfall wreaked havoc across the province, displacing road travellers and evacuating thousands of people from their homes. After hearing on the news that the close-knit municipality of Hope was hosting 1,100 displaced travellers, Baljit Lally quickly took action. The Khalsa Aid Canada member reached out to her volunteer network to cook meals and buy snacks and water to help support the truckers. Soon after, London Air Services received the call to help transport the food, supplies and medicine.
“The stranded truckers can’t leave their cargo unattended, so they’ve been sleeping in their trucks,” says LAS President & Chief Operating Officer Dylan Thomas. “Our helicopters have the technical capability to land in difficult conditions, including ice and snow, and so we jumped at the opportunity to lend our expertise, flying in food and medical supplies.”
LAS’s state-of-the-art fleet was designed for offshore transport and search and rescue missions. Each high-performance AW139 helicopter accommodates up to 12 passengers and 660 pounds of interior cargo space, and the company’s pilots hold the highest Airline Transport Pilot Ratings available in aviation.
In addition to supporting the Khalsa Aid Canada emergency aid initiative, LAS provided private charter services to local government and businesses for the duration of the province-wide emergency.