Page 30 - AAA JULY - AUGUST 2014 Online Magazine
P. 30

FEATURE AIR MEDICAL SERVICES






                                            end of 2013, none of which were used for   service providers are currently responding
                                            medical service missions only.      to around 30 to 40 requests a month.
                                               “Traffic jams often occur in Beijing as   Furthermore,  while  international
                                            there are more than five million automobiles   missions used to involve mostly transports
                                            in the city. Also, most of the areas circling   to medical facilities in Europe and the USA,
                                            Beijing are mountainous, making it   the rise in the number of available high
                                            impossible for an ambulance to reach   standard medical facilities in the Middle
                                            those in need in time,” said Tian. “So it’s   East has increased patient options and
                                            important to develop the air medical service.  consequently the frequency of medevac
                                                                                enquiries in the region.
                                            Middle East                            “Medevac has  become a more viable
                                            Demand for air ambulances is growing   option for the UAE, thanks to the influx
                                            in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and   of modern medical facilities within the
                                            Middle East as advanced local and regional   UAE and throughout the region. The
                                            medical facilities increase.        current size of the local fleet will simply
                                               The regional demand for medical   not  be enough  to accommodate any
                                            evacuation (medevac)  services is forecast   more  surges  in  demand,  as  a  result
                                            to rise even as huge investments in   we  intend  to  enhance  the  availability  of
                                            healthcare infrastructure and services   our global  network of  medevac  aircraft
        BELOW: Bell Helicopter              continue to be made across the Arab   and help augment the market. The
        says its Bell 429 is the            world. The medevac market in the Gulf   growing popularity and affordability of
        ideal platform for HEMS             offers considerable potential as the   medevac flights means that we have the
















































        30   ASIAN AIRLINES & AIRPORTS  JULY / AUGUST 2014                      WWW.ASIANAIRLINES-AIRPORTS.COM
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