JetBlue offers free flights to family members of shooting victims to get to South Florida

JetBlue Airways announced on its company blog that it would begin offering free flights to Fort Lauderdale for the family members who lost loved ones in the Valentine’s Day shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

JetBlue’s post, Saturday, read:

“We are deeply saddened by the news of Wednesday’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, and our hearts go out to the victims and their loved ones.

“This week’s events are felt by all of our 21,000 crew members, many of whom live in, work from and travel through the Broward County area, home to our focus city, Fort Lauderdale. We want to do our part to help the community, and support South Florida through this difficult time.”

The company, which is headquartered in Long Island City, New York, and has a corporate office in Orlando, said it has volunteers available in its Family Assistance Center to book free air travel on JetBlue for victims’ families who need to travel. Additionally, JetBlue will provide access to free ground transportation with Lyft.

JetBlue is also partnering with the Florida Panthers to hold a blood drive from noon to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, at the BB&T Center, 1 Panther Pkwy., in Sunrise.

On Wednesday, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, a former student at Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, returned to his school just before dismissal with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and killed 17 students and teachers.

This story was originally published February 17, 2018 at 10:36 PM with the headline "JetBlue offers free flights to family members of shooting victims to get to South Florida."