Air ambulance for Khaleda Zia not arriving in Dhaka tomorrow

The air ambulance arranged to transfer ailing former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia to London will not arrive in Dhaka tomorrow (9 December).

The development comes as the operator requested cancellation of its previously approved landing schedule at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA).

Sources at the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (Caab) confirmed that Germany-based FAI Aviation Group submitted a formal application through a local coordinating agency seeking to withdraw its earlier slot request.

"We will forward the cancellation request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for further necessary steps," an official said.

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Officials said further details on a revised schedule, or whether a new aircraft request will be submitted, are expected once the operator and relevant government agencies complete additional procedural steps.

Caab had earlier cleared the aircraft to land at 8:20am tomorrow and depart at around 9pm the same day, according to the operator's initial request submitted yesterday (7 December).

Yesterday, a high official of Caab confirmed to The Business Standard that the schedule remains subject to change depending on the assessment and preparedness of Khaleda Zia's medical team.

The Qatar government arranged the medical evacuation aircraft, chartering it from FAI Aviation Group after selecting a replacement air ambulance suitable for long-range medical transport.

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FAI, a globally recognised provider of air-ambulance and mission-critical aviation services, had designated a Bombardier Challenger 604 (CL60) for the mission.

The Challenger 604 is widely used for intercontinental medical evacuations due to its extended range, high operational reliability, and capacity for advanced critical-care medical configurations on board.