An urgent medical transport took place on Saturday night and Sunday, from Brindisi to Rome, carried out by a C-130J transport aircraft of the 46th Air Brigade of the Italian Air Force for a newborn infant in imminent danger of life.

The young patient was admitted to the SS Annunziata Hospital in Taranto, but her clinical condition led to the decision to carry out an urgent transfer to the Bambino Gesù Paediatric Hospital in Rome.

The Prefecture of Taranto requested the urgent air transport, as per procedures. The take-off order was then given by the Aerospace Operations Command of Poggio Renatico (FE), which activated one of the Italian Air Force crews on alert status for this type of intervention.

For the mission, a C-130J from Pisa's 46th Air Brigade was required, capable of directly boarding the ambulance containing the medical equipment to assist the young patient, who was accompanied by her father and a medical team.

After landing at Rome's Ciampino Airport shortly before 3 a.m., the ambulance headed for a children's hospital in Rome, while the aircraft returned to its permanent base in Pisa to resume its 24-hour standby service.

Through its Flying Departments, the Air Force makes aircraft and crews available, ready to take off at any moment and capable of operating in difficult weather conditions to ensure the urgent transport not only of people in imminent danger of death, as happened today, but also of organs and medical teams for transplants. Hundreds of flying hours are carried out each year for these kinds of missions by aircraft from the 31st Wing of Ciampino, the 14th Wing of Pratica di Mare, and the 46th Air Brigade of Pisa.