The child was in mortal danger and required timely treatment at a specialised facility. Upon landing at 2:40 PM on Thursday, 26th January, the mission of the Falcon 900 Easy of the 31st Wing of Ciampino concluded. The aircraft had taken off in the late morning bound for Cagliari Elmas. The flight had been previously coordinated by the prefecture of Cagliari at the request of the university hospital of the same city, and subsequently approved by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
The hospital transport mission, assigned to the 93rd Flight Group T.S. (Special Transport) by the Summit Situations Room of the Air Force Command Staff, became immediately operational, with the crew taking off in a very short time.
The young patient, only 3 days old, had been admitted to hospital due to an extremely serious condition that could jeopardise the patient's life if not treated promptly.
Having landed at the Sardinian airport, the crew members, supporting the medical team, carried out the boarding operations of the incubator according to the instructions received from the health staff, using a Ambulift (platform for boarding and disembarking passengers with reduced mobility).
The ground handling concluded successfully, enabling a prompt departure towards Ciampino airport.
Upon arrival in the capital of Lazio in the early afternoon, the child, accompanied by his father, was handed over to specialised personnel for transfer to the Bambino Gesù Paediatric Hospital - Intensive Neonatal Care Unit, which had previously been identified for the continuation of medical treatment.
The aircraft of the 31st Wing of Ciampino are used for State transport and public utility missions, such as urgent medical transport of sick, seriously injured individuals and transplant organs, as well as interventions for people in any risky situation; its crews and aircraft are ready day and night to provide, where requested and deemed necessary, the required support.
In the just-concluded year of 2016, there were over 220 missions, with nearly 800 flight hours, to transport patients in difficulty, people in imminent danger of death, or organs for transplants.
