A 47-year-old man, in imminent danger of life, traveled aboard an aircraft of the 31st Wing of the Italian Air Force
Today 26 May, an emergency medical transport took place with an Air Force Falcon 50, which took off from the military airport of Lecce in the early afternoon towards the Palermo Punta Raisi airport, in favor of a 47-year-old man, accompanied by the medical team of the "Vito Fazzi" hospital in Lecce and his wife.
The emergency flight, requested by the Prefecture of Lecce, was immediately arranged and coordinated by the Top Situation Room of the Air Force Command, the operations room of the Air Force which also has among its tasks that of activating and managing transport urgent medical services, through the aircrafts that the Armed Forces have ready, 24 hours a day, every day of the year for this kind of need.
After the boarding operations, carried out by the crew of the 31st Wing of Ciampino, the aircraft took off towards Palermo airport. Upon arrival, the patient was transferred to the ambulance, which immediately headed for the "ISMETT- Mediterranean Institute for Transplantation and Highly Specialized Therapies" Hospital in Palermo, where the man was hospitalized.
The military aircraft then returned to Ciampino airport, where it resumed its operational readiness service.
Through its Flight Departments, the Air Force provides means and crews ready to take off at any time and able to operate even in complex weather conditions to ensure the urgent transport not only of people in imminent danger of life, as happened in this case, but also organs and medical teams for transplants. Hundreds of flight hours are carried out every year for this type of intervention by the aircraft of the 31st Wing of Ciampino, the 14th Wing of Pratica di Mare, the 46th Air Brigade of Pisa and the helicopters of the 15th Wing of Cervia which these days they are constantly engaged in supporting the population of Emilia-Romagna hard hit by the heavy floods.