Published : 06 Dec 2025, 12:31 AM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 02:50 PM
The Qatar government has arranged for an air ambulance from Germany to take BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia from Dhaka to London for medical treatment.
Asadur Rahman Asad, a spokesman for the Qatar Embassy in Dhaka said the aircraft is to land in Dhaka on Saturday afternoon.
BNP chief Khaleda was scheduled to take a special air ambulance from the country’s royal fleet to London. However, a “technical glitch” has forced the Qatar government to make alternative arrangements.
Asad said, “The Qatar government is renting an air ambulance. It will come from Germany to Dhaka.
Although the embassy expected the air ambulance on Saturday afternoon, another source said it may be delayed.
The source explained that preparations for a Saturday arrival had not yet been made and the timing depended entirely on Khaleda’s medical team.
“It is now almost certain that the aircraft will not arrive on Saturday.”
A senior official at the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), speaking anonymously, said on Friday that no landing request had been submitted for an air ambulance at Shahjalal International Airport, so no arrangements had been made.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir had also confirmed earlier in the day that the air ambulance would not be coming on Friday due to “a technical glitch” and said it might reach on Saturday “if everything goes well”.
“Should her health permit the journey and the medical board approves, she will fly on the 7th [Sunday],” he added.
Additional complications, however, remain. A senior BNP leader said the medical board had permitted her to travel abroad on Thursday, but her condition deteriorated slightly later that night, which may have contributed to the postponement.
Even with an air ambulance secured, whether she can endure a 13-hour non-stop flight to London will depend entirely on her condition and the board’s assessment.
The former prime minister has been treated at Evercare Hospital since Nov 23.
On Thursday, her medical board recommended transferring her to the UK for advanced care, prompting the use of the Qatari Emir’s medical aircraft.
A BNP source said China had also offered to take her there for treatment and was willing to send an air ambulance.
But Tarique Rahman, who lives in the UK, insisted she be flown to London using the Qatari aircraft since it can fly directly from Dhaka without requiring a refuelling stop.
She previously travelled to London on Jan 7 aboard the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s aircraft, staying first at The London Clinic and later at Tarique’s residence, before returning to Bangladesh on May 6 on the same aircraft.
