newstodate.aero

Mar 15, 2024 (newstodate): SAS has secured a renewed agreement with the Norwegian armed forces for strategic Evacuation and medivac operations.
   The existing contract is due to expire and will be succeeded by the new agreement from 2025 as the aircraft currently used for the purpose, a Boeing 737-700, will be replaced with Airbus A320neo capacity.
   When the coming new design is finalized, the A320neo can be converted into a flying hospital, with medical equipment and hospital beds.
   SAS has provided strategic evacuation and medivac operations for over 25 years, with missions including evacuation flights after the tsunami in Thailand, and evacuation missions from Afghanistan, Moira refugee camp, and Ukrainian patients flown from an evacuation center in Poland to hospitals around Europe.
   Soon to be phased out of the fleet of SAS as the last remaining aircraft of this type, the Boeing 737-700 has been converted to this task equipped with medical facilities and hospital beds, and so far SAS has transported more than 2,000 patients and relatives on these flights, performing the 100th operation on February 1, 2024.