rescEU assigns jet to transfer chronically ill refugees

A medical evacuation (medevac) jet operated as part of the European Union’s rescEU initiative has been deployed to transfer chronically ill patients fleeing the conflict in Ukraine to safe healthcare facilities in Norway.

The aircraft, a Cessna C680A Latitude, was funded by the EU and is registered in Norway, a participating state in the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism, an initiative intended to improve prevention, preparedness, and response to disasters. The aircraft is operated by Babcock Scandinavian AirAmbulance, and is understood to have only recently entered service.

In a statement, the European Commission (EC) said: “Among the millions of people fleeing the war in Ukraine, chronically ill patients are the ones that urgently need specialised medical care.” It added that the jet’s deployment is intended ‘to coordinate the best possible care for these patients’.

The jet joins ongoing operations to manage the influx of refugees in eastern Europe

In addition to the medical evacuation to Norway, the EU has transferred chronically ill Ukrainian refugees from Poland to Italy and Ireland using the rescEU capacity. More evacuation operations of Ukrainian patients are underway, for example from Poland to Germany and Denmark.

The EU has seen a significant influx of refugees fleeing Ukraine in the wake of the conflict. According to data by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of 28 March 2022, approximately 3.9 million refugees (nearly nine per cent of the country’s 2021 population) have fled Ukraine.

The majority of refugees have concentrated in neighbouring EU countries such as Poland (2.3 million refugees), Romania (602,461) and Hungary (359,197). By transferring some chronically ill patients to countries with fewer refugees, strain on local healthcare due to the influx can be minimized.

Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: “This brutal war in Ukraine has forced millions to flee, including vulnerable patients whose lives depend on urgent medical care. With this new addition to the rescEU fleet, the EU ensures that we have an increased capacity to help people across the continent, in today’s and future crises.”

The EU has decided on a ‘solidarity’ plan to manage the refugee crisis

The announcement comes as the EU’s interior ministers agree to a plan to coordinate sheltering capacity for refugees on a ‘solidarity approach’, rather than through a system of quotas as had been the case during the Syrian refugee crisis of the previous decade and represents a shift in how the bloc manages influxes of refugees.

According to Ylva Johansson, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, the ministers have agreed to a 10-point plan which included the creation of a registration system for Ukrainian refugees, and improved transport coordination to help people move between countries. The EU will also set up an anti-trafficking plan and give direct support to Moldova, a non-EU country which has taken in over 385,000 refugees as of 28 March.

“We have received in the EU 3.8 million refugees from Ukraine. Out of those, half of them are children,” Johansson said. “But the number of arrivals is going down. At the peak we had 100,000 arrivals per day, now it's down to 40,000 per day.”