Maldives resumes medical evacuations with India-gifted Dornier & helicopters; Prez Muizzu 'thanks' Delhi

Male: The Maldives has resumed using a Dornier aircraft and two helicopters gifted by India for medical evacuations after the two countries reached an understanding over the repatriation of Indian military personnel operating the three aviation platforms in the archipelagic nation, media reports said on Saturday.

President Mohamed Muizzu, known for his pro-China stance, has thanked India for enabling the resumption of medical evacuation services with civilian aviation personnel from India.

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) told local media that the provision of medical evacuation through the Dornier flight and helicopters has resumed, this time with the civilian crew sent from India, news portal Edition.mv reported.

The two medical emergencies were carried out on Friday night, according to a post on X by the MNDF.

The Dornier aircraft and the helicopters were earlier operated by Indian military personnel and were stopped soon after President Muizzu took oath last November.

President Muizzu rode to power after banking on the ‘India Out’ sentiment and had pushed for the repatriation of Indian military personnel from his country making a demand to this effect within hours of his swearing-in.

According to an agreement between India and Maldives in February this year, all Indian military personnel were to return in batches by May 10 and India kept its word. The military personnel were replaced by civilians as India did not take back the Dornier aircraft and the helicopters it had gifted to the Maldives some years ago.

News portal Adhadhu.com said Indians are stationed in Hanimaadhoo to operate the Dornier aircraft and in Laamu Kadhdhoo and Seenu Gan to operate the helicopters. A total of 76 Indians are based on the islands.

It further said that President Muizzu announced the restart of medical evacuations with the aircraft at the official function held at the youth centre last night to mark the 59th Independence Day.

“A patient was transported to Male’ on the India platform for the first time since military personnel were replaced by civilians. I thank the Indian government for this,” Muizzu was quoted as saying by Sun.mv news portal.

The resumption of the Dornier aircraft operations came after the government faced criticism for not using the Dornier or the helicopters for medical emergencies, the news portal pointed out.

It also mentioned that the Indian military helicopters in Kadhdhoo and Addu were regularly flown before medical evacuations resumed with the Dornier aircraft. The government has not commented on it.

The civilian personnel were sent by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited – an Indian public sector aerospace and defence company in Bangalore, which manufactured the helicopter donated by the Indian government.

“They will manage aviation platforms in Hanimaadhoo, Kadhdhoo and Gan. Their contract expires in 2026,” Sun.mv added.

The Maldives archipelago is to the south-west of the Indian peninsula with Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala being about 600-odd km away. For decades, Maldivians have been visiting Kerala and other south Indian states for medical emergencies and even regular treatments.

Meanwhile, some months ago, Maldives established the National Air Ambulance service, which is conducted with a repurposed Dash 8 flight and a seaplane.

Later on Saturday, during a ceremony to mark the 59th anniversary of Maldives’ independence here at Male, the president spoke of ‘Loan Restructuring and Debt Management’, especially because of its financial bilateral relations with India and China.

“The President acknowledged the significant contributions of China and India in assisting with the Maldives’ debt repayment efforts. India has deferred a USD 50 million loan and provided food quotas for two more years.

China has given the green light to defer loans from the Exim Bank for various development projects for the next five years, with no interest payments during this period,” Truth.mv reported.

Free trade talks with the UK are also underway, and there is renewed optimism for establishing a free trade agreement with India, it said quoting the president.