Washington (CNN) -- The retired general who took charge of relief efforts in New Orleans, Louisiana, after Hurricane Katrina said Thursday that the U.S. military should have arrived in earthquake-devastated Haiti 24 hours earlier.





"The good Samaritans who moved early on the first day are to be applauded. They made a difference," said Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, a CNN contributor.





"What we've got to do now is get the heavy equipment in. I thought the U.S. military could have been there a day earlier. They're on the ground now, and they have a brigade en route, and that's going to make a big difference," he said.





Honore, best known for his management of the recovery efforts after the hurricane that killed about 2,000 people on the Gulf Coast, said "time is of the essence" in helping quake survivors.





Repairing the seaport at Port-au-Prince and keeping the airport open are key to bringing in equipment, food, water and medicine, Honore said.





Regarding the airport, he said, "You need to put the right commander there who's going to be a battle captain and keep those aircraft flowing. You come in, you drop off what you have, you put the sick and wounded on and then move out. No one is standing any time on the airfield. You can be in and out in a half hour."





Speaking at the House Democratic Caucus Retreat later Thursday, Obama acknowledged the scrutiny focused on U.S. response.





"This is a time when the world looks to us and they say -- given our capacity, given our unique capacity to project power around the world -- that we have to project that not just for our own interests but for the interests of the world as a whole," he said. "And my national security team understands that I will not put up with any excuses for us not doing the very best in this time of tragedy."





State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley defended the pace of the rescue.





"We are 40 hours into the crisis. In that time, we have reopened the airport and brought it up to 24/7 operations. We continue to look at the port facility, which will be critical to be able to bring in substantial amounts of aid, and we're trying to figure out a strategy for how to function," he said.





"We now have multiple search and rescue units on the ground. They're already at work," Crowley added.





"Logistics matter. You have an airport with a single runway. So we have things that are queued up. You're going to see a significant increase in the flow, but there is a capacity issue," he said.





Airlines such as American, Delta, Jet Blue and United were helping provide assistance to the country in the form of free miles for its program members and seats for aid organizations.





American was operating humanitarian flights, with three American Eagle aircraft flying 30,000 pounds of supplies into Haiti on Thursday. Three more such flights were planned Friday.





American is also partnering with the American Red Cross by offering one-time awards of 250 or 500 bonus miles for donations.





In the afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that Haiti had suspended flights into the Port-au-Prince airport because ramp space -- where aircraft are parked, unloaded, loaded, refueled or boarded -- was overcrowded. There also was no fuel, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said.





Several U.S. military units planned to depart from the United States for Haiti during the day, but it was unclear whether all would be able to do so.





Among those apparently delayed was a battalion of more than 100 soldiers from the XVIII Airborne Corps based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. They had planned to fly out Thursday afternoon.





Paratroopers from the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division, also based at Fort Bragg, were on their way to Haiti, said Rajiv Shah, coordinator for U.S. assistance to the stricken area. He also is administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.





The
What do airlines offer? according to the news, what does the Airlines offer? Who suspends flight at the ports? what does Obama Says about? Haiti suspended flights into Port-au-Prince Airport for what reason?
one-time awards of 250 or 500 bonus miles for donations. free miles for its program members and seats for aid organizations. Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged the scrutiny focused on U.S. response. ramp space -- where aircraft are parked, unloaded, loaded, refueled or boarded -- was overcrowded.
question: What do airlines offer?, answer: one-time awards of 250 or 500 bonus miles for donations. | question: according to the news, what does the Airlines offer?, answer: free miles for its program members and seats for aid organizations. | question: Who suspends flight at the ports?, answer: Federal Aviation Administration | question: what does Obama Says about?, answer: acknowledged the scrutiny focused on U.S. response. | question: Haiti suspended flights into Port-au-Prince Airport for what reason?, answer: ramp space -- where aircraft are parked, unloaded, loaded, refueled or boarded -- was overcrowded.