The infant, just seventeen days old, was transported in a thermal cot by a Falcon 900 aircraft from the 31st Wing of Ciampino.
This morning, Thursday 2 January, a Falcon 900 from the 31st Wing of Ciampino flew from Cagliari to Milan, to ensure the urgent medical transport of a newborn baby just seventeen days old.
The newborn required urgent specialist care, which necessitated the immediate intervention of an Italian Air Force aircraft. The young patient, originating from the University Hospital of Cagliari (Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Cagliari), was boarded at Cagliari-Elmas Airport onto a Falcon 900 aircraft at approximately 12:00. During the transfer flight, which took place within a special incubator, the infant was accompanied by family members and a medical team who provided constant assistance.
The aircraft landed at Milan Linate Airport after about an hour's flight. From there, the child was transferred to an ambulance, continuing his journey to the IRCCS Policlinico San Donato Hospital.
The crew of the 31st Wing subsequently resumed operational readiness service.
The flight, requested by the Prefecture of Cagliari, was promptly arranged and coordinated by the Summit Situations Room of the Air Squadron Command, the operational room of the Italian Air Force which, among its duties, also includes activating and managing urgent medical transports, ordering the take-off of aircraft that the Armed Force keeps ready, 24 hours a day, in various bases, for such necessities.
Missions of this type require acting with the utmost speed, ensured by meticulous organisation and well-established procedures. Hundreds of flight hours are carried out every year by the Italian Air Force aircraft for urgent medical transports, both of people in life-threatening conditions and of teams and/or organs, for humanitarian flights, and for search and rescue missions.
Crews from the 31st Wing of Ciampino, the 15th Wing of Cervia and subordinate SAR (Search and Rescue) Centres, the 46th Air Brigade of Pisa and the 14th Wing of Pratica di Mare are ready 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, to take off at very short notice, with means and crews capable of operating, even in complex weather conditions, to any destination in Italy and abroad upon request from hospitals, prefectures and, in the case of foreign missions, from diplomatic representatives.