Kocoglu Aviation will add an Ankara-based Legacy 600 to its fleet this November after signing an air ambulance contract with the Turkish ministry of health. Dubbed 'the Flying Hospital', it will feature four advanced life support systems to transport intensive care patients or newborns with incubators. The aircraft will also be able to carry six passengers along with four patients or can be quickly converted to 14 passenger configuration.

The company reports that the four-year-old pre-owned Legacy 600 with a flight time of around 2,000 hours was chosen for the operation due to its lower initial and operational costs and higher reliability than its competitors in the same class.

"Being a proven aircraft and a variant of a highly utilised regional jet, the Legacy 600 fits perfectly to this operation and the requirements of the ministry of health," says Efvani Aybike Koc.

In 2008, Kocoglu Aviation was awarded a government contract to provide EMS helicopters. This fleet now consists of an EC145, ten EC135s and eight A109E Power type helicopters, each with a crew of two pilots, one doctor and a paramedic, on duty and waiting for missions during daytime at their respective bases. The group also has a Hawker 400XP jet.

Sky Line Transportation Trade, which became a subsidiary of Kocoglu Group in 2008, operates and maintains the 19 air ambulance helicopters across Turkey and has flown over 10,000 EMS missions during the three years. Sky Line has 16 heliports and 18 hangars in 15 cities and employs almost 300 employees.

Kocoglu Aviation and Sky Line have also made it their mission to inform public and private sector representatives on the opportunities, challenges and latest developments within the aviation sector in Turkey. To this end, the first Air Ambulance Symposium was organised in cooperation with the ministry of health of Turkey in July 2010 in Bursa. A second summit will be held from November 26-27, 2011, again in Bursa and in association with Kocoglu Aviation, Sky Line and AgustaWestland under the patronage of the ministry of transport, General Directorate of State Airports Authority and Directorate General of Civil Aviation of Turkey.