An air ambulance arranged to fly Bangladesh’s critically ill former prime minister Khaleda Zia to London for advanced treatment is now scheduled to land in Dhaka on Tuesday, aviation officials said, marking the latest shift in a medical evacuation plan repeatedly delayed by health complications and technical issues.
A senior official at the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) said on Sunday that the aircraft has been cleared for an 8 a.m. landing slot on Tuesday, with a departure time of 9 p.m. the same day, bdnews24.com reported.
Qatar has arranged the aircraft and rented it from Germany-based FAI Aviation Group after seeking a replacement capable of long-range medical transfer, according to tbsnews.net.
FAI Aviation Group’s initial application sought clearance to land Tuesday and leave for London on Wednesday. Zia, the 80-year-old Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson, has been receiving treatment for multiple ailments at Dhaka’s Evercare Hospital for nearly two weeks.
She had originally been expected to leave early Friday on an air ambulance provided by the Emir of Qatar, but the BNP said the plane’s arrival was delayed due to technical problems. A revised plan for travel on Sunday was also postponed as she remained unfit for long-haul flight.
Her medical board has now deferred the journey indefinitely. “The medical board treating Zia postponed her planned travel to London for an indefinite period,” her personal physician and BNP standing committee member Dr. AZM Zahid Hossain told reporters on Saturday.
The Qatar Embassy in Dhaka said the replacement air ambulance, a Bombardier Challenger (CL-60 series) jet, is fitted with full critical-care equipment, including ventilators, monitors, infusion pumps and oxygen systems, and is staffed by doctors, nurses and paramedics trained in in-flight intensive care.
Khaleda last travelled to London for treatment in January aboard an air ambulance from the Emir of Qatar’s personal fleet.
