Air ambulance for Khaleda Zia to land in Dhaka today

Dhaka: Plans to airlift Bangladesh’s ailing former prime minister Khaleda Zia to London for advanced treatment suffered a fresh setback on Monday after the German air ambulance hired for her travel sought cancellation of its approved Tuesday’s landing slot in Dhaka, officials said.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) on Sunday cleared the aircraft, arranged by the Qatar government, to land at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Tuesday following its request.

However, the operator, Germany-based FAI Aviation Group, on Monday requested that the slot be withdrawn, news portal bdnews24.com reported, quoting a senior airport official. “No revised application has been received so far,” the official said. CAAB sources confirmed that FAI Aviation Group formally approached authorities through a coordinating agency to cancel its earlier slot request, tbsnews.net reported. The aviation authority had earlier cleared the aircraft to land at 8:00 am on Tuesday and depart at around 9:00 pm the same day, according to the operator’s initial request submitted on Sunday.

The Qatar government had arranged the aircraft, renting it from the FAI Aviation Group, after opting for a replacement air ambulance to conduct the long-range medical evacuation.

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.