Maldivian (Q2, Malé) will be tasked with operating two unspecified aircraft in the first phase of the national air ambulance service in the Maldives, Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, the principal secretary to the president on public policy, told media after a cabinet meeting.
The new service is due to launch in March 2024 and will be provided by the National Ambulance Service but operated by the state-owned flag carrier. The two aircraft will initially be used to ferry patients from Indian Ocean archipelago's more remote islands to larger cities with more advanced hospital facilities. The fleet will eventually encompass more aircraft.
As part of his campaign, recently elected President Mohamed Muizzu vowed to improve healthcare access. To that end, the new Maldivian cabinet will also invest in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to ferry medicine and supplies.
Maldivian did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment. It is not clear at this point whether the service will comprise two helicopters or two fixed-wing aircraft.
