At 6 p.m. on Saturday, a C-130 Hercules of the Austrian Armed Forces took off from Linz-Hörsching bound for Pristina Airport in Kosovo. On board was an intensive care emergency team. The reason: a soldier who was seriously ill with Covid-19 urgently needed to be flown out to Austria for further treatment.
The installation of a special container in the Hercules enables the patient to be transported and receive intensive medical care in the air. Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner: “It is a good feeling to know that we are in a position to bring people home to Austria without delay who cannot receive adequate medical care while deployed abroad. I would like to expressly thank everyone involved in the evacuation operation for their commitment. I wish the sick soldier a speedy recovery.” The Austrian Armed Forces also have so-called “mobile quarantine bags” for transporting infectious patients. These are transport containers under negative pressure that allow patients to be transported in isolation while intensive medical care is maintained in the aircraft. The Hercules landed back in Linz Hörsching just before midnight. The patient was handed over to the ambulance service and is currently undergoing further treatment in a hospital in Linz.
