An official inaugural return flight was held as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq and NEMA Director General, Mustapha Habib Ahmed were conveyed from Abuja to Dutse, Jigawa State on an official engagement.
In 2014, NEMA introduced its first Air Ambulance for emergency health care.
The aeroplane, which was launched at the Trauma Center of the National Hospital, Abuja, was for quick transportation of patients with emergency cases.
In his remarks, the former Chief Pilot and Head of NEMA Special Wing Wing, Captain Ibrahim Mamman, affirmed that the project was part of the transformation agenda of the Federal Government.
“The Air Ambulance can be used to transport patients with critical and traumatic health situations from anywhere the individual is,” Mamman had said.
“As a matter of fact, the jet can go anywhere in the world; it has a mile range of 3000 miles.”
However, in 2018 operations of the Air Ambulance service were grounded after it was due to routine maintenance and regulatory requirement.
Following changes in leadership, repair of the aircraft was completed last year in 2021 and returned from France.
This year, the present management finalised all regulatory requirements in returning the aircraft to its Ambulance operations.