Standing in the Gap During COVID-19

As the threat level for the Coronavirus continues to increase, Missionary Flights International (MFI) is committed to providing safe and reliable transportation to both passengers and cargo. Our greatest concern during this time is aiding in the spread of COVID-19 to areas such as the Bahamas, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. In our commitment, we are also deeply committed to stand in the gap for affiliated missionaries that are serving in those areas that have limited supplies and aid.

We have been monitoring the reports coming out of the U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince, Haiti. A statement on March 15, 2020, from the Haiti Ministry of Health reported “no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Haiti,” and urged the people in Haiti to “avoid public gatherings, practice social distancing, and cancel unnecessary travel abroad.”

Along with those reports from the Embassy came the announcement from the Government of Haiti on “flight restrictions and closure of the border with the Dominican Republic” that would “take effect as of midnight, Monday, March 16 (0000 hours March 17).”

Furthermore, these statements were made:

• All flights to and from Haiti and destinations in the Dominican Republic, Canada, Latin America and Europe will be suspended for two weeks.

• Flights between Haiti and the United States will continue. The Government of Haiti stated that all travelers from the U.S. must have a document showing that they have tested negative for coronavirus before boarding. The Government of Haiti did not specify what proof passengers should present and has not yet provided instructions to airlines.

• The Government of Haiti will continue to conduct health screenings on arriving passengers.

• The Minister of Interior announced that the border with the Dominican Republic will be closed to passenger traffic, but goods crossing the border will still be permitted if personnel transporting the goods are screened at the border.

Further information concerning U.S. citizens in Haiti can be found at ht.usembassy.gov.

The report from the U.S. Embassy Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, reported Flight Cancellations and Hospital Shortages. They announced, “Effective at 6 am on March 19, the President [of the Dominican Republic] has suspended arrival of incoming passengers and has effectively closed the borders of the Dominican Republic for an initial period of 15 days.” Additionally, within this ban, Missionary Flights has been excluded from the allowed ferry flights for foreigners out of the Dominican Republic. We will not be permitted to fly passengers or cargo into or out of the Dominican Republic for the next serval weeks. The Embassy further advised, “U.S. citizens who wish to depart the Dominican Republic should do so immediately” on commercial airlines.

Further information concerning U.S. citizens in the Dominican Republic can be found at do.usembassy.gov.

The Department of State issued a Level 4: Do Not Travel, and has advised all U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel due to the coronavirus on March 19. It is advised that those traveling abroad, “consider returning to [their] country of residence immediately using whatever commercial means are available.”

Further information concerning U.S. travel advisories can be found at travel.state.gov.

Due to the ever changing and unpredictable declarations by the U.S., Haitian, and Dominican governments, Missionary Flights is anticipating not being able to fly for the next few weeks. Our last scheduled flight into Haiti will be Friday, March 20.

Travel between countries is becoming more and more unpredictable and seems to be changing by the minute. We are also, at this time, canceling all passengers from the U.S. to Haiti until, at the earliest, Tuesday April 7. There may be a chance that we are able to provide cargo transportation to Haiti prior to this date, but only our Lord understands what lies before us in the future.

We have limited the number of volunteers serving at MFI. Our staff has agreed that, in the absence of flights, other jobs may be performed that would otherwise have been done by our volunteers. This decision has been made to protect our volunteers and reduce the amount of traffic in and out of the MFI office. If you are interested in volunteering at MFI in the future please visit www.missionaryflights.org/volunteer

During this time, we continue to stand in the gap in the following ways:

• Praying for our affiliated missionaries, volunteers, and churches.

• Performing routine and necessary maintenance of our aircraft outside of our otherwise busy flight schedule.

• Building the Missionary Flights Hospitality Park. The Hospitality Center is nearly complete and photos can be found at www.missionaryflights.org/the-hospitality-park

• Preparing to resume a normal schedule when the coronavirus threat has passed.

Please be patient and flexible as we continue to stand in the gap for our affiliated missionaries during this coronavirus situation.

ADDITIONAL LINKS

U.S. Department of State (Travel Advisories) - travel.state.gov

Haiti U.S. Embassy - ht.usembassy.gov

Dominican Republic U.S. Embassy - do.embassy.gov

Bahamian U.S. Embassy - bs.usembassy.gov

Coronavirus Info - coronavirus.gov