Wheels Up debuts hurricane evacuation services

With the hurricane season coming, Wheels Up is highlighting its emergency services arm Kenyon International Emergency Services

A byproduct of Wheels Up’s recent acquisition of U.K.-based Air Partner is several new business segments. One focuses on emergency services, which includes hurricane evacuation planning for companies, governments, and UHNWs.

Wheels Up’s Kenyon International Emergency Services is a specialist in crisis management offering personalized air evacuation services.

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Kenyon set up an Incident Management Center in Baton Rouge. The facility oversaw the recovery of deceased from local hospitals and nursing homes, responded to calls from individuals, and performed secondary searches of homes.

Hurricane evacuation services

Additional air evacuation services and detailed plans offered by Kenyon International include:

• Airfield access and capabilities, runway data, operating hours, customs and immigration facilities, and fire cover
• Alternative airfields and diplomatic clearances
• Researched destinations, a range of regional safe-havens, airports with suitable transit facilities
• Departure and arrival requirements and evacuation support

To complement these elements, Kenyon’s support accounts for a staffed Evacuation Reception Center at a pre-determined destination. It offers practical and emotional care, as well as mental health and wellbeing, services to evacuees.

“Our top priority is safety and wellbeing, and natural disasters put that at risk, presenting an incredibly volatile situation with very specific needs,” says Mark Briffa, Wheels Up President of International Charter & Services,

The former CEO of Air Partner adds, “This is why, alongside Kenyon, we build and present comprehensive and personalized air evacuation plans that are tailored to care for individuals when the unprecedented happens.”

Along with real-time, 24/7 assistance, the company offers contingency planning as well as disaster preparedness. It also provides crisis communications and logistical support which with immediate and rapid response to crises. That’s supported by their international aircraft charter divisions – private jet, group charter, and freight.

With an office in South Florida and the capability to deploy a wide range of chartered aircraft during a crisis, the Air Partner team is very familiar with and highly experienced in responding to the challenges that arise during hurricane season, according to the company.