JEDDAH, 29 October 2007 — Saudi Arabia will purchase five King Air 350-C planes to boost its air ambulance fleet, it was announced yesterday.
The Saudi Press Agency said that Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, has approved the purchase plan.
The new planes are said to speed up transportation of patients and the injured to specialized hospitals, said Maj. Gen. Kattab ibn Eid Al-Otaibi, director of medical services at the armed forces.
The twin-engine turboprop with two crew and six passenger seats has optimum fuel efficiency. Al-Otaibi said the delivery of the planes would start within six months increasing the air ambulance fleet to more than 30 planes.
Maj. Gen. Hamad Al-Hassoun, director of the air ambulance division, said the crown prince approved the purchase plan to modernize the fleet. “Ever since the launch of the air ambulance service in the Kingdom in 1980, the department has transported 28,140 patients in critical state,” he said.
Brig. Abdullah Al-Rashed said King Air 350, which is the latest model in this long running and successful line of corporate and utility transports, could operate in all weather conditions and at a comparatively low cost.
