Air ambulance hired for Khaleda Zia’s London trip cleared to land in Dhaka on Tuesday

The air ambulance chartered to fly BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to London for medical treatment has received clearance to land in Dhaka on Tuesday morning.

A senior officer of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) confirmed on Sunday that Bangladesh had approved the request submitted on Saturday by Germany-based FAI Aviation Group through a third party.

The aircraft was greenlighted to land at 8am on Tuesday, with a possible departure slot from Dhaka at 9pm the same day.

However, the FAI Aviation Group’s initial application had sought clearance to land in Dhaka on Tuesday and depart for London on Wednesday.

Khaleda has been receiving treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka for nearly two weeks. She had originally been scheduled to leave for London early Friday morning aboard a special air ambulance provided by the Emir of Qatar, but the BNP later said the flight was delayed due to “technical issues”.

By Friday evening, the party announced that the Qatari special air ambulance would not be arriving, adding that the emir would instead arrange an air ambulance rented from Germany.

The BNP has yet to say when this new aircraft will arrive or when the former prime minister will be flown out.

According to the medical board overseeing her treatment, Khaleda is not yet medically fit for air travel, which is why her departure has been delayed.

A doctor on the board told bdnews24.com on Saturday that she may become fit for travel around Dec 9-10.

According to the Qatar Embassy in Dhaka, the air ambulance has been hired from FAI Aviation Group, based in Nuremberg, Germany. The aircraft is a twin-engine Bombardier Challenger (CL-60 series) jet kitted out with full medical facilities.

The company’s website says its air ambulances carry advanced equipment, including ventilators, monitoring units, infusion pumps, oxygen supply, medication and other medical equipment. The crew typically includes experienced doctors, nurses and paramedics trained in in-flight critical care.

Khaleda last travelled to London for medical treatment in January, flying on an air ambulance from the emir of Qatar’s personal fleet.