Guarantee the first-ever cargo flight transporting critically ill patients

In a critical moment, BGS’s efficient operations ensured the flight departed ahead of schedule.

In the early hours of November 17, 2011, BGS successfully completed the departure operations for Russian Air Bridge Airlines (code RU) flight 322, transporting a critically ill Russian patient, just ten months old, to the destination city of Moscow for medical treatment. This marked the first-ever instance of using a full-cargo aircraft to transport a critically ill patient at the Capital International Airport. It is reported that the critically ill patient suffered from a respiratory illness and had difficulty breathing on his own, requiring 24-hour oxygen support and other related medical treatments. Since passenger aircraft cabins have lower air pressure, which cannot meet the patient’s needs, and since emergency medical care would need to be provided onboard during the flight, the only viable option was to use a cargo plane. Thus, a rapid lifeline—speeding up the rescue effort against time—was established. Due to the special nature of this flight, BGS immediately set up a command team. At 1:00 a.m., the operational staff responsible for loading and unloading the full-cargo aircraft arrived at the aircraft’s designated parking position N109, half an hour earlier than usual. Equipment such as the passenger boarding bridge, aircraft tug, and platform truck subsequently arrived at their assigned positions one after another. The flight’s cargo and stowage plan were also delivered to the aircraft ahead of time. All preparations proceeded smoothly and in an orderly manner. To prevent unexpected equipment failures from disrupting the operation schedule, BGS conducted a thorough re-inspection of all equipment involved in the operation once it had been positioned at the aircraft. At 2:18 a.m., the aircraft arrived at its parking position, and the operational staff immediately began the intense yet well-organized work of offloading incoming cargo and loading outgoing cargo. In the middle of the night in November, the temperature on the apron felt particularly cold, and the weather wasn’t cooperating either, with light rain falling. Yet, the BGS team did not falter. They held only one conviction: the nearly eight tons of cargo accompanying the passenger must be loaded onto the aircraft before the patient arrived, so as to avoid any noise generated by ground equipment affecting the patient’s emotional state. At 3:33 a.m., all loading operations were safely and smoothly completed, fully 1 hour and 45 minutes ahead of schedule. At 4:40 a.m., the flight pushed back from the gate 20 minutes earlier than scheduled. At 5:03 a.m., flight RU322 took off, carrying with it the blessings and good wishes of everyone who had been closely following the operation. Once again, BGS demonstrated its outstanding qualities—its courage and capability to tackle tough challenges—and successfully passed the test of this extraordinary operation.