A transport aircraft landed late last night at Pratica di Mare military airport (RM) C-130J aircraft of the 46th Air Brigade of the Italian Air Force carrying a newborn baby, only 20 days old and in imminent danger of life, requiring transport from the Lecce-Galatina military airport, home of the 61st Wing, to the Roman military airfield.

small patient was admitted to the’Cardinal Panico Hospital of Tricase (LE) when, due to the worsening of clinical conditions, immediate transfer to’Bambino Gesù Paediatric Hospital in Rome.

The request for urgent air transport was made by the Cabinet Office of the Prefecture of Lecce, which coordinated the acquisition of the necessary certifications and the activation of the flight operations in relation to the documented dangerous conditions of the newborn.

The take-off order was followed by the Aerospace Operations Command in Poggio Renatico (FE) which activated one of the Italian Air Force crews on standby, which each year carries out hundreds of hours of flight on a 24/7 basis for this type of intervention, including the transport of organs and team transplant doctors with the planes of 31st Wing of Ciampino, from 14th Wing of Pratica di Mare and the 46th Air Brigade in Pisa.

Specifically, the use of the special aircraft became necessary C-130J of the 46th Air Brigade from Pisa, suitable for directly boarding the ambulance with the specific medical equipment needed for the transfer of the young patient.

After landing at the military airport in Lazio, the ambulance headed towards the paediatric hospital in Rome, while the aircraft returned to its home base in Pisa to resume its 24-hour readiness service.