Aircraft
France Deploys A330 MRTTs in Coronavirus Battle
In an ongoing effort to relieve pressure on beleaguered hospitals, the Armée de l’Air has begun transporting patients to less-affected areas.
Medical crew prepare to offload coronavirus patients following a 50-minute flight from Basel-Mulhouse. (Photo: Armée de l’Air)
Medical crew prepare to offload coronavirus patients following a 50-minute flight from Basel-Mulhouse. (Photo: Armée de l’Air)

On March 18, an Airbus A330 Phénix multi-role tanker/transport of the Armée de l’Air (AA, French air force) conducted a medical evacuation flight to airlift six coronavirus patients to relieve pressure on the hospitals of the saturated Grand-Est region. The aircraft deployed from its base at Istres, near Marseille, to ferry the patients from the joint French-Swiss Basel-Mulhouse airport back to Istres for ground transport to the Laveran army training hospital near Marseille and Sainte-Anne hospital in Toulon.

Operated by Escadron de Ravitaillement en Vol et de Transport Stratégique (air refueling and strategic transport squadron) 1/31 “Bretagne”, the Phénix was outfitted in the “Morphée” configuration, one of the three available for aeromedical missions.

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