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A peek inside the the world's most modern flying hospital - the Airbus A310 MRT MedEvac - Germany has sent to airlift coronavirus patients

The Airbus A310 MRT MedEvac. (Twitter/akk)
  • Covid-19 is slowly emerging as the acid test for nations world over and as some countries are caught dead flat footed others are showing just what they are made of.
  • On top of that order, when it comes to medical airlifting stands a proud Germany.
  • The Airbus A310 MRT MedEvac is the world's most modern flying hospital and boosts the latest medical technology from computers and diagnostic systems to long-term respiratory machines and automatic injections.

As the deadly coronavirus pandemic sweeps across the world leaving thousands dead in its wake, Nations’ preparedness to deal with health crisis and pandemics is coming under scrutiny and exposed to all and sundry.

Covid-19 is slowly emerging as the acid test for nations world over and as some countries are caught dead flat footed others are showing just what they are made of.

On top of that order, when it comes to medical airlifting stands a proud Germany. Yes! Not even the Americans have a comparable medical airplane for such quick deployment and equipped with top-of-the-line medical equipment.

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On Saturday, the world got a glimpse of the world's most modern flying hospital - the Airbus A310 MRT MedEvac, after German Defense Minister, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, announced that Germany will be sending it Airbus A310 to the Italian city of Bergamo to airlift Covid-19 patients on her twitter handle. Aboard the aircraft were six Italian intensive care patients.

“In times of greatest need, it goes without saying that we stand by our friends…That is why we are now bringing seriously ill patients from Italy to Germany for treatment with our flying intensive care unit of the Air Force. It is an important sign of solidarity. Europe has to stick together.” German Defense Minister

Several German state governments are offering to take patients from Italy among other countries according to media reports. Patients from eastern France were also airlifted to Germany via helicopter recently.

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The Luftwaffe’s A310 looks like any other Airbus A310 from the outside but wait until you step inside: DW reports that the MedEvac is outfitted with six intensive care stations, each fully equipped with the latest medical technology from computers and diagnostic systems to long-term respiratory machines and automatic injections.

Each station costs a half million marks and allows a highly-trained team of doctors and paramedics to do almost everything done in a hospital except operate. In addition to the six full-care stations, the plane also has hospital beds for transporting 38 other patients.

The flying hospital and its crew of 25 can be mobilized within three hours to go anywhere in the world.

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The Airbus A310 MRT MedEvac is single handedly the envy of NATO's medical airlift command. The MedEvac passed its fire test last November when the German air force flew to the Middle East to rescue 50 injured civilians in the Gaza Strip.

The multi-functional transport plane can be outfitted to carry either 214 passengers, 30 tons of cargo or 42 critically injured.

One of the flying hospitals was on stand-by alert after the September 11 attacks. It was prepared to transport injured from New York to Germany, but was thankfully not needed in the end.

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