Bhutan plans two new air ambulance bases

Bhutan’s state-owned helicopter emergency services provider Royal Bhutan Helicopter Service Limited (RBHSL) will establish new bases in Mongar and Gelephu, which will respectively provide medical evacuation services for the eastern and southern parts of the country.

The news was announced by Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering in a live address broadcast from Gelephu on Wednesday 2 March, and subsequently reported by national newspaper Kuensel.

The new bases are expected to offer improvements to medical response times and provide better access to healthcare facilities for remote communities. At present, medical responses are often disrupted due to poor weathers, as well as the country’s often mountainous terrain.

The new bases will coincide with the acquisition of additional helicopters

The plans, which are currently being worked out by the government in collaboration with the finance ministry, RBHSL and other experts, will include the purchase of new helicopters for the bases, as well as the recruitment of new flight and ground crew. However, Tshering said that the acquisition of aircraft could take around two years.

Tshering added: “With more [Covid] relaxation, more cases and patients will require medical assistance, which will burden the frontline workers. The choppers will facilitate referral hospitals in Thimphu, Mongar and Gelephu to ensure timely medical airlifts uninterrupted by bad weather.”

RBHSL currently operates two Airbus H130 (EC 130T2) helicopters, operating from its main base in Paro International Airport, west of Thimphu.

RBHSL carried out 109 medical evacuations in 2021, and provides helicopter services for aerial firefighting, the delivery of emergency supplies, as well as local and tourist charter flights.