European Air Ambulance (EAA) and Remote Medical Solutions International (RMSI) have launched a new aircraft and services cooperation agreement. "In particular, the agreement will apply to repatriation from Afghanistan and Iraq, the high-risk areas in which RMSI provides medical evacuation,"

RMSI says. "Our Hawker 800 air ambulances give us the regional aeromedical capabilities to offer emergency response services in the larger Middle East." RMSI has established partnerships with international hospitals in the countries where it operates. It will fly the patient to Dubai, where wing-to-wing transfer will take place with an EAA aircraft already in position. EAA will then fly the patient back to the final destination. The entire operation will be handled by the round-the-clock EAA Missions Control Centre (MCC).

EAA, whose founding members are DRF Luftrettung and Luxembourg Air Rescue, says: "Clients will receive a quotation from EAA MCC for repatriation from Afghanistan or Iraq within one hour. Once the quotation is approved, EAA and RMSI will immediately set in to motion the mission, using their complementary skills and resources to ensure maximum efficiency and safety. MCC coordinators can choose the appropriate physician for each mission from a large pool of anaesthetists, neonatologists, gynaecologists or other specialists."

The MCC coordinates EAA's air ambulance fleet of five Learjet 35As and a Beechcraft King Air 200.